Description
The history of Casa Ferreirinha is inseparably linked to an extraordinary woman: Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira. Born in 1811, in Régua, gateway to the vineyards of the Douro valley. Although small in stature and reserved by nature, Dona Antónia was charismatic, visionary and enterprising. He created new extensions of vineyards, increased and improved the company's stocks of old wines and contributed to improving the arduous lives of local farming families by founding schools, daycare centers and hospitals. Such was the affection of the population that they affectionately called him “Ferreirinha”. With his death in 1896, he left behind a notable Douro heritage and an immensely successful business.
Casa Ferreirinha's big bet on unfortified wines would emerge about half a century later. Producing elegant, high-quality Douro wines, with refinement and the high aging potential of Vintage port wines, became the dream of Fernando Nicolau de Almeida who, from an early age, started working at the company, rising to technical director . He selected the best grapes from the Douro Superior, full of richness and structure, and combined them with others, coming from high altitudes, for their acidity and aroma.
Thus, in 1952, Barca-Velha was born, an iconic wine that has since been produced only in the best years, considered one of the red wines in Portugal with the greatest longevity, elegance and complexity. The genesis of Casa Ferreirinha is, therefore, a true lesson in oenology, which determined the evolution of this House's wines, enriched with the Quinta da Leda root plantation, started in 1979, where the grapes that allowed to increase and improve production are born. . Today, the Casa Ferreirinha range, produced under the direction of winemaker Luís Sottomayor, ranges from young wines such as Esteva or Planalto, through richer wines such as Papa Figos, Vinha Grande and Callabriga, to the exceptional Quinta da Leda, Antónia Adelaide Ferreira and Reserva Especial, with Barca-Velha occupying the top of the hierarchy.
2017
100 pontos – Wine Enthusiast – Estados Unidos