Villa Oeiras Carcavelos 15 Anos 2015 (500ml)

34% Arinto, 33% Galego Dourado, 33% Ratinho Carcavelos gained an international reputation in the 18th Century under the leadership of Marques de Pombal, who produced thr wine on his property at Oeiras. Despite its historic acclaim, the wine nearly disappeared in the latter half of the 20th Century, victim of development along the coast west of Lisbon. Today, at just 31 hectares, Carcavelos remains the most diminutive appellation in Portugal and one of the smallest in Europe. The long remaining producer, Villa Oeiras, has been at the forefront of its revival., harvesting grapes from limestone slopes on a portion of the Pombal Estate, now a national landmark. The wine is a testament to the living history of Carcavelos and exhibits a deep amber hue with complex notes of dried fruits, honey cake and spices, its sweetness and concentration tempered by its elegant acidity and resonant finish. Serve chilled.

Once one of the great fortified wines of Portugal, today this is the last remaining producer of Carcavelos - a wine made of native grapes, fortified while still a touch sweet, and then aged like tawny Port with plenty of oxidization. It drinks like a mellow Madeira, loaded with toasted hazelnut, burnt sugar, fig, orange peel and dried apricot aromas and flavors and finishing vibrant, mouthwatering, and super long. A fine match for almond cookies or cake, great with cheeses, and a winner with savory seafood soups.