Casa Das Gaeiras Tinto 2012

Perched up in the green, hilly, historic region of Obidos, north of Lisbon, with the cooling Atlantic breeze, you wouldn’t imagine the vineyards of Casa das Gaeiras are on the same latitude as Turkey. The area’s altitude and coastal influences lend the wines from this estate such a cool purity and beautiful freshness, that you’d be entirely forgiven for thinking it came from much further north. Ain’t geography great.

Casa das Gaeiras is an historic winery in the Portuguese region of Obidos, north of Lisbon. Clay and limestone soils, relatively high altitude and coastal influences all lend the wines from this estate a cool purity and beautiful freshness.

Built in 1720, Casa das Gaeiras is a fascinating property and contains the chapel of Saint Mark, where Henrique da Fonseca Sousa Prego, an important nobleman and a brave soldier, is buried. Also part of the single estate, owned by Frederico Pinto Bastos Lupi, is an important library about the Peninsular War which includes collections of weapons and documents of that era, considered one of the best by many historians.

The estate has about 30 hectares of vineyards, where they grow the white grapes Vital, Arinto, Fernao Pires and Chardonnay, and red the red grapes, Castelao, Syrah, Touriga Nacional and Aragonez.

Winemaker António Ventura began his professional career in 1981 as an assistant to the influential Octavio Pato and, in 1983, and has two degrees in agronomy and oenology and is now the technical coordinator of the Tasting Panel of CVR (the Wine Commission) Lisbon.

The grapes are totally de-stemmed and undergo extended cold skin maceration. The fermentation occurred at 24ºC in stainless steel vats and lasted for nine days.

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