Quinta do Vale Meão 2023

Quinta do Vale Meão Red 2023

Quinta do Vale Meão Red 2023 is a great red wine from the Upper Douro, produced in Vila Nova de Foz Côa on an estate created in 1877 by D. Antónia Adelaide Ferreira. Today, the Olazabal family continues to interpret this terroir with the same ambition: a deep, fresh estate wine made for aging.

The 2023 vintage

The wine year was anything but linear: a very rainy winter, a spring of extremes (a dry, hot April followed by intense rain and hailstorms in May/June), which led to a drop in production of around 30%. In the end, ripening accelerated with heat and available water; the harvest was slightly early and required selection due to the fragility of the skins. It began on August 16 (Rabigato) and ended on September 18 (Tinta Roriz).

Vinification

After crushing, the grapes undergo thermal shock and are transferred to granite presses where they are trodden by foot for 4 hours. The must is transferred to small temperature-controlled vats; 10% fermented with stems. The grape varieties are vinified separately and the final blend is refined before bottling. Aged in 225 L French oak barrels (35% new, 65% 2nd year).

Tasting Notes

Bright, deep color. Floral aromas and red and wild fruits, with intense fruit. On the palate, long finish, very fresh and complex.

Grape Varieties

60% Touriga Nacional, 25% Touriga Franca, 10% Tinta Barroca, and 5% Tinta Roriz.146