BACKGROUND:
Quinta do Vale Meão was founded in 1877 by the legendary Dona Antònia Adelaide Ferreira and is owned today by her great-great-grandson Francisco “Xito” Olazabal. Vale Meão built its reputation supplying fruit to the famed 250-year-old Port house Ferreira. In 1952, its vineyards were chosen to create a revolutionary wine, which for decades would be the Douro’s only globally recognized table wine.
Vale Meão began a new life in 1998 when Xito realized his dream of making his own wine from his family’s estate. Success came quickly, and in 2011, Portugal’s leading wine publication Revista de Vinhos named Xito Winemaker of the Year. Three years later, Wine Spectator awarded the 2011 Quinta do Vale Meão 97 points and ranked it #4 in their top 100 wines of 2014. Today Xito is recognized as a leading figure in the Douro table wine revolution, which has captured the attention of the wine world.
WINEMAKING:
Foot treading in granite lagares aids phenolic extraction without adding bitter tannins. Each grape variety is vinified separately in stainless steel and then blended, followed by aging in 80% new and 20% second-pass French oak barriques.
TASTING NOTES:
The wine features a deep and complex nose with a variety of aromatic nuances. The palate is vibrant and elegant, exhibiting an excellent integration of the oak, a broad range of flavors including ripe blackberry, cloves, and vanilla bean, and a wonderfully long finish.
- VARIETAL COMPOSITION:
- 55% Touriga Nacional
- 40% Touriga Franca
- 3% Tinta Barroca
- 2% Tinta Roriz
- pH: 3.72
- TA: 5.3 g/L
- RS: <0.6 g/L
- Alc.: 14%