Papa Leite JBC
Type Red
Grapes 100% Alicante Bouschet
Year 2017
Alcohol Content 15% | Reducing sugar 2,2 g/l
pH 3,58 | Total acidity 5,5 g/l
Tasting Notes
Colour Deep red with violet hues
Aroma Hints of black berries, jam and chocolate
Flavour Very dense, complex and soft in the mouth with great persistent finish on the palate. One can feel the complexity of the French oak wood that brings out the cacao notes
3l
Recommendation Serve at 14º-18º C
An This wine pairs well with a fava bean and game stew; a lobster and grouper rice; a hearty bean stew or pork leg roasted in a wood oven.
Terroir Clay
Harvest On September 12th, the harvest was done manually and transported in 10 kg boxes to avoid crushing the grapes
Oenology Alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel tank, for three weeks, at a controlled temperature of 24ºC
Aging After alcoholic and malolactic fermentation, the wine aged for 24 month in young French "Ermitage" oak barrels, specially made for this, and next aged in the bottle
Bottling May 30th with cork stopper – flor extra category
Number of Bottles 403 of 3 l
Producer Filipe Barreiros Cardoso
Oenologist António Madalena
Selected Grapes
ALICANTE BOUSCHET
Alicante Bouschet is a grape variety from the end of the 19th Century, born in a laboratory from the cross between the Grenache and and Petit Bouschet varieties, by the hand of the French botanist Henri Bouschet, with the objective of creating a grape of intense colour, fruity, easy to grow and highly productive.
It is one of the few teinturier grapes in the world. Its deep red colour comes not only from the skin, but also the flesh, giving the wines a deeper darker colour.
Making history in the wine world, especially during Prohibition, when grapes were sold all over the country with a manual on how “not” to turn grapes into wine, by the end of the 20th Century it began losing ground to other more elegant international grape varieties.
Introduced in Portugal at the beginning of the 20th Century, it was in the terroir of the Alentejo that the Alicante Bouschet found the ideal conditions for its development. Cold Winters and hot Summers, deep rich soils, with water resources during all of the growth cycle.
Widely used in blends of wines of this region, it produces wines of excellent quality, with a soft texture and attractive colour, giving them also a great capacity for ageing.
The time at which it is harvested, and, and the way it ages, influences its aromas. If picked prematurely, it will be aggressive and unappealing tannins will stand out. Picked ripe, it will produce wines of a dark colour which manifest notes of black fruit, jam, liqueur, wild herbs, with a crunchy acidity and robust tannins.
When aged in wooden barrels, the outstanding aromas are cocoa, black chocolate and exotic spices; it may further develop hints of leather, game and balsamic as it ages.
The ideal pairing for Alicante Bouschet is red meat, as tannins and acids in the wine match perfectly with the wine.
