The history of Casa Ferreirinha is tied to one woman, born in 1811 in the country town of Réguain the Douro Valley. Dona Antónia was a visionary and entrepreneur.
In 1845 at age 33, she took over her family’s business, Ferreira Port, the first family-owned Portuguese port house in the Douro.
During her tenure at Ferreira Port, Dona Antónia worked to expand her estates, create vast new swaths of terraced vineyards, and work to improve the day-to-day life of the local farming families who tended the land.
Today, winemaking for the estate is handled byLuís Sottomayor. Luis, who has been involved with the winemaking team since 1989, has worked within several national and international wine-growing regions.
Despite being so widely traveled, Luis has always remained dedicated to producing excellent Douro and Port Wine. He was awarded the 2010 Winemaker of the Year Award by Revista de Vinhos, one of Portugal’s most highly regarded wine publications.
He was nominated in 2012 for the Winemaker of the Year award at the International Wine Challenge and was named Winemaker of the Year by Revista de Vinhos in both 2012 and 2017.
Contents
Casa Ferreirinha Vinha Grande Douro Review
This wine is produced at the wineries of Quinta do Seixo, in CimaCorgo, and Quinta da Leda, located in the Douro Superior, using a number of modern winemaking techniques.
The grapes are soft-crushed and destemming before being transferred to stainless steel tanks, where fermentation occurs.
At this point, the wine undergoes soft maceration at controlled temperatures to extract the compounds that provide the color, aroma, and flavor of the wine.
The wine is then aged in French oak for 12 months. The wine undergoes several more tests during this phase and is then filtered prior to bottling.
Casa Ferreirinha Vinha Grande Douro
- Brand: Casa Ferreirinha
- Country: Portugal
- Region: Douro
- Wine Type: Red Wine
- Varietals: Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca
- ABV: 13.5%
Appearance
The wine is an intense ruby red shade, featuring tinges of a deep purple color. The wine appears to be medium-bodied, with moderate legs forming and falling at a pretty average pace.
Smell
The aromatics on this bottle take a bit of work to tease out but are quite pleasant.
The smells here include plums, black cherries, cedar, baking spice, fresh strawberries, and cocoa powder, along with a bit of new leather.
Taste
This is definitely a hefty wine, boasting plenty of tannin and a good bit of acidity. The primary fruit flavors here are wild cherries, underripe strawberries, red raspberries, and blackberries.
Secondary notes include cherry-flavored pipe tobacco, oak, dark chocolate, and a bit of a cedary, spicy characteristic that makes me think of licking the inside of a cigar box in a good way.
The finish on this bottle is quite impressive, as it sticks with you for what feels like minutes after your final sip.
What Does Casa Ferreirinha Vinha Grande Douropair With?
To really immerse yourself in a piece of Portugal, try a cozido.
Cozido is a traditional Portuguese dish consisting of various meat, vegetables, and smoked sausages, all slow-cooked together, generally over the course of several hours.
Don’t have the patience for that? Go for any grilled, savory, or smoked meats, harder cheeses, or mushroom-based veggie dishes.
I am particularly fond of doing this bottle with a wild boar stew seasoned with herbs and cooked with mushrooms.
What Wines Are Similar to Casa Ferreirinha Vinha Grande Douro?
Cabernet Sauvignon is probably the most common wine, similar to Douro red wines.
The best examples feature good tannic structure, a big body, and rich depth and complexity, just like this wine. You can also use the same rules of thumb with pairing options as well!
Final Thoughts
This bottle over delivers, in my opinion. It is big, powerful, and complex, with each sip and sniff revealing something new about the wine. I strongly recommend picking this one up.