Quinta da Romaneira Mirante Petit Verdot
WHY WE LOVE IT
- The Mirante Vineyard, situated along the Douro River, spans over 3 kilometers of riverfront. Its steep schist slopes ensure excellent drainage and deep rooting, while southern exposure provides optimal sunlight for producing vibrant, fruit-forward wines.
- Notably, the vineyard has a high-quality parcel dedicated to Petit Verdot, a non-traditional grape that thrives in the region.
- Mirante vineyard holds a Category “A” classification, the highest rating for wine production in the Douro.
Varietal Composition: 100% Petit Verdot
Elaboration: The wine fermented in stainless steel tanks for 10 days. Malolactic fermentation was carried out in tanks and also in French oak barrels. 100% of this batch of Petit Verdot was aged in wood for 10 months, 30% in new French oak barrels (225-liter barrels).
Tasting Notes: This wine displays ripe wild fruit, camphor, French oak, and a hint of eucalyptus on the nose. Full-bodied and enveloping, the palate offers ripe plum, black cherry, licorice, and tobacco, along with fine-grained tannins. A bold Petit Verdot, this is a serious, structured, and complex wine. It’s a rich wine with pronounced tension around a core of black cherry and plum. It has great aging potential in the bottle.
PRESS
2020 – 94 James Suckling
PRODUCER BACKGROUND
The 1,100 acre spread of Quinta da Romaneira is widely considered one of the Douro Valley’s most breathtaking estates. The winery began producing port in 1872, but was not legally allowed to bottle under its own name until 1986 when DO changes gave single quintas the authority to do so.
Christian Seely purchased Romaneira in 2004 with plans to put the winery shoulder to shoulder with the Douro’s top names in terms of reputation and quality. Seely and winemaker Antonio Agrellos understand what such ambition means – They are the dynamic duo behind the much celebrated rebirth of another great property, Quinta do Noval (which sits literally next door), which they’ve operated for the past twenty years.
The entire Romaneira vineyard estate is classified “A” (the highest mark that can be obtained in the Douro) and the house focuses almost completely on unfortified dry wines and vintage style port.