Cartuxa Winery Pêra Manca Red
WHY WE LOVE IT
- Pêra-Manca is the brand that Fundação Eugénio de Almeida uses for its exceptional wines.
- Due to the high quality of the tannins and woods used, these are wines that have great longevity, requiring some time to reveal their full potential.
- It was produced for the first time, by the Eugénio de Almeida Foundation, in 1990.
Varietal: Trincadeira, Aragonez
Elaboration: Pêra-Manca is produced from the Aragonez and Trincadeira varieties with each parcel being carefully separated and selected at the harvest. The vineyards are over 30 years old and selection depends on the grapes developing slowly without excess stress, drawing out the best characteristics of the varieties. In the best years that this happens the grapes are harvested, de-stalked, lightly crushed and fermented in 12000L oak vats. There then follows a long period of maceration before the wine is matured in 3000L oak vats for 18 months. The wine is aged in bottle for a further 48 months in the Cartuxa Monastery cellars prior to release.
Tasting Notes: Full-bodied, complex and elegant, with an aroma of raisins of fruits and essences of the aging woods.
PRESS
n/a
PRODUCER BACKGROUND
The wines of Cartuxa are produced within the Alentejo sub-region of Évora and have long been legendary within Portugal. Adega Cartuxa has been in the hands of a large family, the Eugénio de Almeida family. This family has been one of the most influential families in Portugal. A Vasco Maria Eugénio de Almeida spent much of his efforts on the revitalization of the area by creating a hospital, social housing and more. Part of his efforts also included the planting of olive groves and vineyards. The vineyards have been on the same Quinta de Valbom site in Évora since 1517 when the Jesuits came to the region to establish the second oldest university in Portugal. Cartuxa reflects the tradition and famed quality of the first Carthusian monks who in 1598 established the Santa Maria Scala Coeli Monastery.
In the early 1960s, Vasco Maria Eugénio de Almeida transformed his personal project of service to others into a lasting institutional project, and created the Eugénio de Almeida Foundation, a private legal institution. Fifty-five years after its creation, the Foundation continues the work of its Founder, and its multiple development projects, including the production of the Cartuxa wines.