Conditions: The viticulture year of 2013 started in the winter of 2012 with quite a bit of rain, particularly during January and February. March saw the strongest rainfall (176mm of rain). The soil had water replaced after two years of very dry weather. April and May were quite cool, which delayed the vegetative cycle for almost two weeks. June, July and August were nearly completely dry months, with higher than average temperatures. The little rainfall did not affect the vineyard too much, as the Douro vines are very adaptable to adverse circumstances and are able to find water in very deep soils. The grape maturation delayed almost 10 days in relation to the average annual registries and the harvest began in the 3rd week of September. By the end of September it rained, which made us stop picking for a few days. Picking restarted after Eastern winds dried up the grapes and the harvest continued under sunny weather.
Grape Origins: A blend of Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Sousão (60% of the final blend) and grapes from a very old vineyard, with more than 20 varieties (40% of the blend).
Vinification and ageing: All the vineyards of Quinta das Brôlhas are divided into different plots and each plot is harvested by hand. The grapes are carefully selected by hand before crushing. They are then put intotraditional granite stone “lagares”, destalked and then foot trodden for 1to 3 days before the start of the fermentation. All the fermentation occurs in the same “lagares” with foot treading being made at night and the cap manually broken during the day, with the use of the also traditional“macacos”. After the fermentation the resulting wine is stored into small stainless steel tanks until the end of the malolactic fermentation. It was then racked into 225 one year old French oak barriques, where it aged for another 18 months.
Bottling: July 2015, in 3.860 bottles (75cl) and 100 Magnums (1,5L).
Tasting notes: A very elegant and fresh wine, with dark red and purple colour. Good concentration of mature dark red fruit aromas and black plums and gentle aromatic and fruity flavors. Great balance, intense and velvety and a long and fruity finish.
Analysis:
Alcohol: 13,32% vol
Total acidity: 5,20 g/l Volatile acidity: 0,70 g/l
pH: 3,64
Total SO2: 82,0 mg/l Total sugars: < 0,6 g/l
Packaging:
Cartons: 6 x 75cl
Euro-pallets (1,20 x 0,80 m2): ? cs x ?? = ?? cs Normal pallets (1,20 x 1,00 m2): ? cs x ?? = ??? cs
Case dimensions (H/W/L): ?? x ?? x ?? cm3 Gross weight: ? kgs/cs
Net weight: 4,59 kgs/cs