Presentation
Elegant, fresh and well-balanced, with soft approachable tannins, our Maria Mansa red wine offers delicious notes of red fruits on the palate, typical of the wines from this region, in good harmony with the notes of wood. This balance gives us a high quality wine from the Douro, which is softer and more immediately accessible than the rest of the Noval range, ready for immediate consumption.
The vintage
The viticultural year began with a fairly wet winter followed by mild temperatures leading into spring. These two conditions led to an early budburst in March. April provided us with regular rainy spells that positively replenished the soil water reserves.
Flowering occurred quite early in the beginning of May that led us to expect an early harvest. June was a difficult month, very hot and humid, where regular thunderstorms and hail affected the region. Quinta do Noval was thankfully spared from that inclement weather.
July's mild weather started to shape the character of this harvest because it contrasted completely to last year's record setting temperatures during the same month. The mild conditions continued into August and led to a slow homogeneous ripening of the grapes and noticeably less dehydration than in 2020.
We started to harvest our red grapes on the 26th of August. The first wines made showed intense fruitiness and crispy acidity. Then came a series of heavy rainfalls on the 2nd, 13th and 24th of September. We suspended the picking for three days after the first two rains to allow the grapes to resume their ripening. We observed a positive phenolic development in all the grape varieties as the sunny weather and mild temperatures kicked in for the rest of the month. The usual spike in sugar readings never really occurred so we stretched the harvest as far as possible to allow all of our plots to ripen. We finally finished picking on the 8th of October under clear skies and moderate temperatures. Overall it can be said that the average quality of the wines made is reasonably good throughout. The dry reds show deeply concentrated colour, moderate alcohol content, good structure and nervy acidity.
Winemaking
The wine is vinified at Quinta do Noval in stainless steel vats for 7 days, followed by malolactic fermentation.
Ageing
The wine is aged for 10 months in French oak barrels of 225 litres, 5% in new barrels.
Varietals
Tinta Roriz : 40%
Touriga franca : 35%
Tinto Cão : 15%
Touriga nacional : 10%
Specifications
Alcohol content : 14 % vol.
Residual Sugar : 0.99 g/l
pH : 3.38
Total acidity : 5.9 g/l
Serving
16ºC-18ºC
Tasting
This wine is balanced, fresh and expressive. It shows a dark colour and offers a delicious aromatic profile. On the palate, this wine is well-structured, with a good acidity and bright fruit flavours, followed by a long aftertaste.
Carlos Agrellos, Technical Director