This Portuguese wine is made exclusively from selected grapes hand picked at optimum maturity from chosen sites in our own vineyards. The wine is fermented without stems under temperature control, frequent delestage, followed by extended skin maceration to enhance varietal fruit characters and to provide tannin structure and balance. The red wine has been aged for 12 months in French oak barrels and then blended to give balanced varietal fruit and oak components.

• Harvest 2009: an exceptionally cold winter, one of the coldest in 19 years, and a rare snowfall in January. Rainfall was normal at 500mm, mostly concentrated in the winter months, followed by a dry and warm spring and summer.
• Budbreak on 26th February was an early record. Unstable weather during flowering in May resulted in uneven pollination and low fruit set in some varieties.
• A very hot period in early August when temperatures averaged 25º kick-started the exceptionally early harvest date.
• Aged for 12 months in French oak (100%) barrels, and then blended to give balanced varietal fruit and oak components.
• Bottled, unfined and filtered in March 2011.
• Awards: Silver Medal-Intl Wine & Spirit Competition– UK 2012.
• Rating: 91–Robert Parker (Mark Squires), 90–Wine Enthusiast.
• Country of origin: Portugal.
• Vintage year: 2009.
• Age: 12 months.
• Volume: 750ml.