This Catarina Bacalhôa comes from the Bacalhôa winery, located on the Portuguese peninsula of Setúbal. In the beautiful village of Vila Nogueira de Azeitão, we find a lovely winery. The winery has a long history in Portuguese wines. Over the years, it has grown into one of the largest in Portugal, without losing its traditions and ancient winemaking methods. Naturally, they have modernized extensively to further improve the vinification process. In 1998, they took a major step forward when José Berardo took the helm of this beautiful winery. He invested heavily in new grape varieties and entered into a partnership with the Lafitte Rothschild Group. The results are certainly evident in the Catarina wines.
5 months of wood aging for this white Catarina
This white Catarina wine is made from Arinto, Chardonnay, and Fernão Pires. The vineyards for these varieties are all located on the Portuguese peninsula of Setúbal. The Fernão Pires and Arinto are planted on sandy soil, while the Chardonnay is on chalky soil. All are very sunny and warm, making coolness in the vineyards essential. The grapes receive this coolness from the falling nighttime temperatures and the wind from the sea that blows through the vineyards during the day. This creates a good balance between heat and coolness. When the varieties are ripe separately, they are harvested and pressed by hand. Vinification also takes place separately. The Fernão Pires and Arinto are fermented in stainless steel tanks for a beautiful, natural freshness. The Chardonnay, on the other hand, is partially fermented in stainless steel barrels and partially in new French oak. This same portion also undergoes 5 months of oak aging with regular battonage. This makes the white wine very soft and gives it a pleasant complexity.
The taste of this white Portuguese wine
By now, we're very curious about the results of all the effort in the vineyard and the winery. We carefully uncork the bottle and pour the Catarina slowly. Immediately, we notice a beautiful, light lemon-yellow color. This is different from what we expected from the oak-aged Chardonnay. On the nose, we detected peach and pineapple, oak, and toast, with a hint of vanilla at the end. The taste, yes... it's truly amazing! Wonderfully full-bodied yet refreshing. A versatile white wine where peach and pineapple are beautifully prominent. These are transformed in the finish into mild notes of vanilla and a touch of citrus. A truly top-notch wine!
2024
