2018 Cartuxa Evora Colheita Tinto

The legendary Cartuxa winery is named after the Carthusian monastery next to which it is located. That monastery was once bought by the De Almeida family and is now back in the hands of the monastic order, but the founder of Cartuxa, Eugénio de Almeida, started growing grapes on the lands. And where the Carthusian monks lead an extremely sober and closed life, the wines of Cartuxa are anything but. Rich, full-bodied and fruit-dominated wines, beautifully balanced and never bulky. That goes for the entire range of wines that come from this 400 hectare estate: from the very affordable everyday wines to the iconic Pêra Manca.

The Cartuxa Evora Tinto Colheita comes from the DOC Alentejo and comes from different vineyards of the Pinheiros, Casito, Álamo da Horta and Valbom domains, located on a substrate of granite, loam and slate. The winemaker of Cartuxa is the iconic Pedro Baptista (famous for his Cartuxa Pêra-Manca - the Peter of Portugal). This wine is a blend of Alicante Bousquet, Trincadeira (=Malvasia) and Aragonez with fermentation in stainless steel tanks after which the wine is allowed to mature in peace because everything gets its time at Cartux. This wine is aged for 12 months in French oak barrels and then another 9-12 months in bottle. This Portuguese is complex and elegant with red fruit compote on the nose, slightly peppery, somewhat spicy, slightly earthy with undergrowth tones.

Mouth-filling, fleshy structure with soft, ripe tannins, followed by a pleasantly round, yet fresh, spicy aftertaste. Highly recommended with grilled/roasted beef, rack of lamb, braised shoulder of lamb, aged/ripe hard cheeses.