Casa Ferreirinha, `Quinta da Leda` Douro Tinto

Country: Portugal Region: Douro

Varietal: Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinto Cão, Tinta Roriz

Vintage: 2017  Colour: Red Style: Dry

PRODUCER
The Casa Ferreirinha reds are all characterised by great depth of flavour. They range from the unoaked, ripe and juicy ‘Esteva’ and ‘Papa Figos’, through to the oak-aged ‘Vinha Grande’ and ‘Callabriga’, which marry intense and concentrated aromas of red and black fruit with subtle spicy hints of tobacco box and cocoa. The ‘Quinta da Leda’, a blend of Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinto Cão, and Tinta Roriz grown on the eponymous estate, is aged for 18 months in oak barrels, 50% of which are new. It is a wine of great complexity and elegance, with velvety tannins, a vibrant acidity and aromas of ripe blackberry and damson, cedary spicy notes and a subtle slate-like minerality. Single-varietal wines in the Douro are atypical, and the Tinta Francisca is quite a curiosity. There are only 40 hectares of this variety currently in existence, including a small plot on the Quinta do Seixo estate in the Cima Corgo. Aged for 24 months in French oak barrels, this is a unique and complex wine, boasting aromas of red berries coupled with notes of black pepper, balsamic and an earthy tertiary character.
VINEYARDS
A blend of Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinto Cão and Tinta Roriz grown on the 170-hectare Quinta da Leda estate. Quinta da Leda is located in the far eastern reaches of the Douro Superior, just 12 kilometres from the border with Spain. The vineyards are planted on rolling hills on the south bank of the Douro and are a complex patchwork of plots with different aspects and microclimates, each matched to a specific grape variety following a study that was carried out in collaboration with the Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro de Vila Real. Soils are composed predominantly of schist, which fractures vertically and allows the vine roots to delve deep to access water and nutrients during the hot Douro summers.
VINIFICATION
Upon arrival at the gravity-fed Quinta da Leda winery, hand harvested grapes from the estate were fully destemmed and gently crushed. Fermentation took place in stainless-steel tanks at controlled temperatures and the varieties were co-fermented. Following fermentation, the wines were aged for 18 months in 225-litre and 500-litre French oak barrels, around 50% of which were new. After numerous tastings and analysis, the final blend was assembled by Luís Sottomayor and the winemaking team and was lightly filtered before bottling.
TASTING NOTES
A wine of great intensity, complexity and elegance. On the nose, aromas of ripe red and black fruits combine with spicy notes of cocoa and tobacco box and subtle floral notes. Full-bodied on the palate, with ripe and velvety tannins and a refreshing acidity which carries the complex flavours onto the lingering finish.