Villa Oeiras Carcavelos 15 Yr

Villa Oeiras is the sole remaining producer of Carcavelos and was born of a partnership between the Ministry of Agriculture and municipality of Oeiras in 1983.

Carcavelos is the smallest wine appellation in Portugal. Lying west of Lisbon as it stretches along the Targus estuary in search of the Atlantic, its vineyards were nearly consumed by expansion and development during the last quarter of the 20th century, until just 25 hectares—now protected—remained.

The fermentation can be arrested via mutage, or the wine can be fermented dry and subsequently fortified with Vino abafado (a fermented grape must, preserved by the addition of neutral alcohol), bringing it to 18-20% abv, typically with 80-95 g/l of residual sugar, similar to the sweetness level of Boal Madeira.