Benchmark of the appellation, Portugal's most diminutive and one of the smallest in Europe, Villa Oeiras Carcavelos 15-Year Old was the first Carcavelos imported to the US in many decades.

Produced from calcareous limestone slopes above the Tejo estuary as it opens out to the Atlantic, classic varieties Arinto, Gallego Dourado and Ratinho are hand-harvested and fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks before their long slumber in cellars beneath the former palace of the Marquis do Pombal, just west of Lisbon. Notes of dried sultana and apricot, bitter orange, roasted hazelnut and sea smoke underscore Carcavelos' oceanic influence, its concentration and sweet rancio spices lifted by elegant acidity and an energetic, resonant finish. It can be enjoyed on its own after dinner, or with a variety of cheeses and desserts. Serve lightly chilled; once opened, it will keep well for six months or more.

keeps 0-30 years
(50-59ºF)

keeps up to 6 months
(55-64ºF)

2-3 oz. pour
(59-64ºF)

About Villa Oeiras

Base map data ©2017 Google, Inst. Geogr. Nacional

Villa Oeiras is the sole remaining producer of Carcavelos and was born of a partnership between the Ministry of Agriculture and municipality of Oeiras in 1983. Located in the former stables of the Marquis do Pombal at the Casal da Manteiga, its 12.5-hectares are planted on calcareous soils just 200 meters from the Tagus estuary and comprise nearly half of the entire DOC. The vines are derived from original Pombal cuttings, material that traces its roots back more than three centuries. Arinto, Gallego Dourado and Ratinho form the backbone of its benchmark 15-year-old blend, and the signature of the Atlantic Ocean features prominently in its expression. The wines are aged in a combination of Nacional (Portuguese) and French oak, initially at the Casal da Manteiga, and are later transferred to the palatial cellars of the M. do Pombal for extended elevage. Under the direction of winemakers Tiago Correira, Pedro Sá and Alexandre Lisboa, Villa Oeiras is both sentinel and beacon of the Carcavelos appellation. Full details

About Carcavelos DOC

Carcavelos is the smallest wine appellation in Portugal. Lying west of Lisbon as it stretches along the Targus estuary in search of the Atlantic, its vineyards were nearly consumed by expansion and development during the last quarter of the 20th century, until just 25 hectares—now protected—remained. It first came to prominence in the 18th century under the Marquis de Pombal, who possessed significant vineyard holdings in the hills surrounding Oeiras and Cascais. Carcavelos quickly gained renown, when it was gifted by King Jose I of Portugal to the court of Beijing in 1752 and later was featured in Christie’s first-ever London wine auction, appearing alongside Hock, Burgundy and Malaga. Yet production remained small (relative to that of Port and Madeira), and the arrival of phylloxera in the late 19th century began Carcavelos' slow fade—even as it was officially demarcated in 1908 and recognized with Port, Moscatel de Setúbal and Madeira as one of four traditional Portuguese Vinhos Generosos.

Today, Carcavelos is amongst the rarest of wines. Just one active producer, Villa Oeiras, remains, while the wines of Quinta dos Pesos—which ceased production in 2005 and were little commercialized—were specially selected from barrel and bottled by the Sotolon Selection team.

Carcavelos is a vinho generoso, or strong fortified wine, produced from a blend of up to nine different white and red varieties (for the whites: Arinto, Gallego Dourado and Ratinho are most common; for the reds: Trincadeira, Negra Mole and Castelão). The fermentation can be arrested via mutage, or the wine can be fermented dry and subsequently fortified with vinho abafado (a fermented grape must, preserved by the addition of neutral alcohol), bringing it to 18-20% abv, typically with 80-95 g/l of residual sugar, similar to the sweetness level of Boal Madeira. The wine must then be aged a minimum of three years in cask, but elevage can range from five to 20 years, the wine becoming oxidative in character, with barrels more or less topped-up, depending on the style of the producer. Both vintage and blended age-statement are made.