Following the announcement of the release, it’s time for the long-awaited market debut: Casa Ferreirinha Reserva Especial 2014 will be available in late June, marking yet another chapter in a history spanning more than 70 years.
To speak of Casa Ferreirinha’s Reserva Especial is to speak of a wine with charisma and maturity. A wine released only in extraordinary vintages—rare and unique—that allows you to savor the very best the Douro has to offer in a way no one else does. Created in 1960 by Fernando Nicolau de Almeida, Reserva Especial has seen only 18 vintages, each with a distinct profile yet revealing the same identity and origin: the Upper Douro.
Reserva Especial 2014 is the most recent vintage of this great Douro red, a new vintage produced under the full supervision and responsibility of Luís Sottomayor. According to Sogrape’s head of winemaking in the Douro, “It is a wine that stands out for its elegance—the result of a mild year with good ripening—as well as for its excellent body, lively acidity, firm tannins, and an extremely long and complex finish.” Produced at Quinta da Leda in Almendra, the blend is dominated by grapes selected from the estate, which currently comprises approximately 170 hectares of vineyards. With an intense aroma, featuring prominent notes of spices, truffles, and sous-bois, as well as black fruits, a stony character, and a hint of cocoa, the 2014 Reserva Especial “is one to remember,” concludes Sottomayor.
For Fernando da Cunha Guedes, President of Sogrape, “The launch of an iconic wine like this is always a deeply moving moment, as it expresses the perfect combination of time and place in a new work of art that elevates the prestige of the very best we know how to create.”
A pioneer in the production of still wines from the Douro, Casa Ferreirinha deserves a tribute with every new vintage of Barca-Velha or Reserva Especial. These wines honor this historic house that bears their name—a house that has always remained in family hands, with its history guided by just three winemaking leaders to this day. Tradition and innovation, along with knowledge and experience in winemaking when producing quality wines that express the region’s potential and the diversity of its terroirs, are the pillars that underpin this long history of success—a history that is now entering a new chapter.
With a production of 16,415 bottles, Casa Ferreirinha Reserva Especial 2014 will hit the market in late June with a recommended retail price (indicative and non-binding) of €280, and will be available at wine cellars, leading specialty stores, top-tier restaurants and hotels around the world, as well as at Caves Ferreira and selected wine clubs.
Note to the editor: the 17 vintages of Casa Ferreirinha Reserva Especial preceding the now announced 2014 vintage were from the years 1960, 1962, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2007, and 2009.