Outrora Raro Tinto 2015

By RARO (rare) we mean something that is unusual, not very abundant or that does not happen very often. This is exactly how we understand this wine, RARO (rare), in the best meaning this word can have. Born from a year that was hot in many regions, but in Bairrada it produced wines of great refinement, simultaneously with finesse and power, this Once coming from our century-old vineyard located in the Cadoiços valley, captures what we believe to be the essence of the grape variety and all the splendor it can achieve in special years. The Atlantic character of Bairra's climate, together with its clay-limestone soils, can provide this variety with a unique personality, although it poses great challenges. In the rainiest summers, the clay makes handling this sensitive grape variety a complicated task, where precision in viticulture is paramount and the moment of harvest is dictated by several factors in addition to the grapes' ripening point. This 2015 proved to be austere from an early stage but always with a rare purity of fruit and a paradoxically elegant and engaging bearing. We knew we were in the presence of something that nature had not yet presented us with until then and we postponed, year after year, the launch of a wine that was always growing and that we believe will continue to do so for many years. Only nature will tell when a new edition of Outrara Raro will be released again.

Grapes: Baga (100%)

Climate: Mediterranean with Atlantic influence. Good temperature ranges with hot days and cool, humid nights.

Soils: Clayey with calcareous marls.

Tasting Notes: Deep nose where fine notes of cherry coexist with chalky and iodized notes, as well as suggestions of graphite, dark chocolate, black pepper and wild herbs. The mouth, with a rich and tense profile, catapults all these aromatic sensations into an enveloping, salivating and very long finish. It is a wine with a gastronomic inclination, obviously, but with great pairing flexibility due to its rare combination of lightness, richness and tension. It can be stored for several years with the bottle lying in a dark, cool place.

Vinification: Grapes partially de-stemmed and slowly fermented in a press.

Ageing: 24 months in French oak barrels (50% new), 500l and 228l. Bottling in September 2017 and aging in bottle since then.

Winemaker: Nuno do Ó & João Soares.

Availability: In 1-3 business days