Barros Colheita Port 2005

The vines are grown on terraces cut into the steep hillsides of the Douro Valley. The vines have been planted along the terraces of the greatest slopes, the “Vinha ao Alto” , which translates as "vertically planted vines". The vineyard soils are schist greywacke ante-Ordovician, with some granitic formations. This soil is rich in nutrients and has useful water retention properties. Traditionally, the vines in the region are grown low, close to the ground. The single or double Guyot and unilateral and bilateral cordons are the methods most frequently used for training the vines. Trellises are not permitted for Port Wine grapes. The grapes are manually harvested, once they have reached the optimum maturity according to the variety.

Barros Colheita 2005 is produced by the traditional Port method. The grapes were destemmed, crushed and underwent a careful skin maceration to extract colour, aromatics and fine tannins. Fermentation took place in vats with constant pump overs during fermentation. Temperatures were controlled and maintained at between 28 to 30°C, until the desired Baumé was reached. At this moment, grape brandy was added, which is known as the ‘benefit’, resulting in a fortified wine with perfect balance. A wine of exceptional quality, from a single harvest.