Carcavelos (wine)

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DOC Carcavelos
highlighted in color - areas originally belonging to the DOC outlined in
orange: Areas that are currently partially planted

Carcavelos is a DOC ( Denominação de Origem Controlada ), since 2011 a DOP ( Denominação de Origem Protegida ) in Portugal , in which a fortified wine is produced under the same name. This wine, a cuvée made from up to eight different white and red grape varieties, can bear the highest Portuguese quality seal for liqueur wines (VLQPRD = Vinhos Licorosos de Qualidade Produzidos em Região Determinada ). The appellation, established in 1907 and regulated a year later, which extends into the western outskirts of Lisbon , is now the country's smallest controlled cultivation area. Carcavelos wines were famous and sought after in the 19th century; they were equated with the great liqueur wines of the country, port , Madeira and Moscatel de Setúbal and achieved very high prices at auctions. As a result of the general decline in demand for southern wines, which began towards the end of the 19th century and is still ongoing, albeit at a slower rate, but above all due to the expansion of the urban area of ​​Lisbon in the east and Estorils in the west, the area under vines shrank to around 12 today Hectares. However, there are efforts to expand the vineyards again and to intensify the marketing of this wine.

Wines from Carcavelos could be identical to the wines known as Osey or Oseye , which were known and in high demand in England in the late Middle Ages and early modern times.

Location and climate

Pruning in Carcavelos

The appellation is located directly on the north side of the Tejo estuary between Lisbon in the east and Cascais in the west. The vineyards belonging to the DOC were distributed like islands in this area. Declining demand, growing urbanization and the pressure of competition from other local liqueur wines have made most of them disappear, so that today only small areas are planted north of the city of Oeiras and west of Cascais. The vineyards north of Oeiras essentially coincide with the wineries of Sebastião José de Carvalho e Mello , the Marquês de Pombal (1699–1782), under whom viticulture was promoted in the region and the style of this wine was shaped. The climate is maritime-Atlantic, with relatively mild winters and not too hot summers. Rain falls sufficiently in late autumn and winter, the summers are dry. The vines grow primarily on calcareous red earth soils .

Production and wine characteristics

The Carcavelos can be a blend of up to 8 different white and red grape varieties, but it can also consist of fewer basic wines. The finished wine must contain at least 75% grapes of the white varieties Galego Dourado , Ratinho and Arinto , as well as the red grapes Castelão and Preto Martinho . The remaining 25% is divided between the white varieties Rabo de Ovelha and Seara Nova and the red Trincadeira . The vine yield is limited to 55 hectoliters per hectare . The mixing ratio and the vinification, especially of the red wines, differs from manufacturer to manufacturer, so that a Carcavelos can be different both in taste and color. The color spectrum, also depending on the degree of aging and oxidation , ranges from light cognac to dark reddish brown. The most common color of a mature carcavelo is a rich topaston .

The production of this wine differs significantly from that of other liqueur wines: The individual types are harvested separately and matured dry. The treatment of the red grapes, especially the duration of the must fermentation, is different, which greatly influences the subsequent product in terms of color and taste. Part of the must (mostly that of the particularly sweet white Galego Dourado - called vinho abafado ) is semi- fermented , pulled onto small barrels and immediately fortified in order to preserve the residual sweetness. After fermentation is complete, the wines are blended, the sweet must previously set aside is added again and the cuvée is fortified to at least 16, but mostly 19–20 percent by volume with pure wine spirit. It then matures in small oak barrels for at least three, but usually five years and longer, before it is bottled and stored again for at least 6 months before it is sold. A maximum of 40,000 liters of this wine are currently produced annually.

A Carcavelos can be aged dry, semi-dry or semi-sweet , most modern products are semi-dry. A successful product has a variety of aromas of nuts, vanilla, tobacco, almonds and dried fruits and has a good acid structure. It is somewhat reminiscent of a good Tawny Port , with which this type of wine was blended in earlier times. The optimal drinking temperature for young, white-dominated wines is between 10 and 12 degrees, older and more red wine-based wines should be drunk a little warmer.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Oxford Companion (see literature) Keyword: Osey