Cartuxa Pera Manca Tinto 2018
€ 465.00
Pêra Manca's legacy dates back to medieval times, with its first reference found in a 16th-century document. Produced by the Fundação Eugénio de Almeida winery, this wine's name—"Pêra Manca"—translates to "limestone," named after the soft limestone soil in which its vines thrive. The region’s ideal terroir, combined with traditional winemaking techniques, offers a fascinating background for this storied wine.
In the past, Pêra Manca was cherished by Portuguese royalty, religious figures, and even famed explorer Vasco da Gama was said to have taken bottles on his voyages and as such is this wine also connected with the Portuguese discovery of Brazil. Such historical significance only adds to the allure and charm of this exceptional wine.
The history of Pêra-Manca Red goes back to ancient times and has many curiosities and episodes that, since 1365, have been associated with this wine. A story that Adega Cartuxa knew how to interpret and that has been bringing together all its knowledge and dedication, whenever the conditions are met to be able to carry it out.
In the words of Fundação Eugénio de Almeida oenologist, Pedro Baptista, “With each cycle that is completed in the Fundação Eugénio de Almeida vineyards, in Évora, corresponds to the rebirth of the opportunity to create new wines with a “Cartuxa” character and profile, where inevitably highlights the expectation that, beneath the strains that give rise to the Pêra-Manca Tinto grapes, all the generosity of nature that allows wines of this excellence to be obtained has fallen.
The year 2018 presented exceptional conditions, which allowed the launch of this extraordinary Pêra-Manca Red 2018.
After careful fermentation, with 18 months of aging in French oak barrels and a further four years of bottle aging in the Convento da Cartuxa cellars, the winemaking team at Adega Cartuxa gave its final approval to this new vintage of the Alentejo icon.
Garnet color, quite concentrated. Intense and complex aroma, black berry fruit, plum, some cocoa and tobacco, with vegetal nuances of rockrose, dry herb, tea leaf and also earth.
Concentrated and robust, it is also extremely elegant and balanced, with solid tannins, still young, and an excellent expression of fruit, enhanced by acidity and higher tension vegetal notes.
Long and elegant finish, with a lot of character, demonstrating the expressiveness of the grape varieties in an extraordinary way.
Pera-Manca is the brand that the Eugenio de Almeida Foundation reserves for exceptional wines, bottled only when the winemakers feel that the wine deserves this status. The red wines are made from Trincadeira and Aragonez varieties. They have a full rich flavor with aromas of ripe berries and hints of dried fruit. The high quality tannins give the wine a natural durability, the wines are intended for storage in a cellar and have a long lifespan. Since the launch in 1990, only 18 harvest years have been produced, namely 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014, 2015 & 2018
Food pairing
The perfect wine in red oven baked or grilled meat and game dishes
Grapes: Aragonêz, Trincadeira
Carefully produced from selected plots in vineyards over 30 years old, where maturation occurs gently, without excessive water stress, maintaining the aromatic potential and the specific stratum of the grape varieties. When they reach the ideal stage of ripeness, the grapes are harvested and transported to the winery, where the technological process begins, with complete destemming, careful optical selection and light crushing. Fermentation takes place in French oak vats at controlled temperature, followed by prolonged post-fermentation maceration. Aged for eighteen months in French oak barrels, followed by aging in the bottle in the cellars of the Cartuxa Monastery. This wine has not undergone tartaric stabilization. Due to the high quality of the tannins and wood used, these wines have great longevity, needing some time to reveal their full potential.
The Évora sub-region is known for its hot dry conditions and a varied mix of non-calcareous Mediterranean soils. The wines are typically robust and multi-layered, complex and rewarding, with good acidic balance.
Alcoholcontent
14,5%
Store & Serve
Serve at 16-18 ° C
To drink from 2025. Drinkable now, but will only get better over the next 20 years.
Critics & Awards
4,6/5 - Vivino (149 ratings)
Tags: Adega da Cartuxa - Alentejo, Évora
