The grapes to produce the “Esteva” Douro Tinto Casa Ferreirinha, were gently destemmed and crushed and then transferred into stainless-steel tanks. Fermentation took place at a controlled temperature of 25°C in order to preserve the bright fruit flavours of the grapes. The wine is unoaked in order to retain the vibrancy of the fruit flavours and was kept in stainless steel until the final blend was carefully assembled and then bottled.
The Esteva Douro Tinto is a blend of Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional from vineyards across the Douro Valley, with fruit from higher altitude vineyards, such as Quinta do Sairrão, bringing a refreshing lift to the blend. The soil in the Douro Valley is made up of schist – a dense, slate-like metamorphic rock that fractures vertically, allowing the vine roots to delve deep to access water reserves to sustain them during the hot Douro summers. The poor quality of the soil forces the vines to produce low yields of very concentrated grapes.
The origins of Casa Ferreirinha date back to 1952 and the production of the first ever vintage of Barca-Velha. Fernando Nicolau de Almeida kick started the quality revolution in Douro still wines and Casa Ferreirinha was the first producer in the region dedicated entirely to producing still table wine, rather than Port. Named after the legendary Porto matriarch Dona Antónia Ferreira, one of the formidable widows of the world of wine, Casa Ferreirinha, pays homage to the memory of this visionary woman. Purchased by Sogrape in 1987, Casa Ferreirinha has 520 hectares of vineyard in all of the three Douro sub-regions: Baixo Corgo, Cima Corgo and Douro Superior. The staggeringly beautiful Quinta da Leda is Casa Ferreirinha’s flagship estate, located close to the border with Spain in the far east of the Douro Superior, it is the source of grapes for many of the top wines. The great Luís Sottomayor has been head winemaker since 1989 and restrains the Douro’s natural exuberance to produce wines that have a vibrant freshness allied to a wonderful texture and depth.
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