Text João Pedro de Carvalho | Translation Jani Dunne

After nearly 15 years, I return to Adega da Cartuxa; on the other side of the wall, Mosteiro da Cartuxa has been housing Carthusian monks since 1598. Adega da Cartuxa belongs to Companhia de Jesus, and was nationalised after the liberal revolution in the 19th Century, and acquired in 1869 by José Maria Eugénio de Almeida. Only in 1950 would the cellar be modernised by Vasco Maria Eugénio de Almeida, count of Villalva, and was included in the foundation’s assets in 1975. From then onwards, wine started being produced as soon as the new vineyard was planted, between 1982 and 1985, in a completely different perspective – linked to Universidade de Évora from the beginning, through a team, at the time lead by Engineer Colaço do Rosário, to whom Alentejo wines owe a lot. Harvests from the end of the 80s were very important, such as Cartuxa white 1987, aged in wood, and so was the year of 1990, when the first Pêra Manca red emerged.

The reason why I have drawn away from Cartuxa wines has to do with the obvious changes to the profile the wines suffered when a new team of oenologists came in. Simultaneously, labels were also being modified, and I consequently grew completely apart from the wines, which I no longer felt the same passion for; I once did, and mostly because of Pêra Manca 1995, the wine that marked me the most in my career as an oenophile. After so long, it was time to reconnect with the wine reality currently set in Adega da Cartuxa. My expectations weren’t blown out of proportion; the wines had abandoned that confusing phase after the changes made in Oenology. Surely, a few vintages were necessary to shape up the right profile by making necessary adjustments.

Every wine I tasted proved to be at an unusually high level; attention, however, despite every different sample, was only set on the Cartuxa wines, which made the grand finale with the 50-year celebration wines, the final apotheosis was achieved with Pêra Manca. With regard to whites, Cartuxa 2013 results from a lot comprising Arinto and Antão Vaz. It stands out for its lovely freshness and purity spawning from the ripe fruit (citrus, pear, pineapple) in a somewhat tense blend that flows deliciously and sternly through the mouth; everything was just right, with a critical acidity taking over the finish. In the next glass, Pêra Manca white 2012 was already displaying very good exuberance and a little rounding; a beautiful evolution thanks to a good bit of time in the glass. Harmonious and engaging, it fills the mouth with flavour and class; enough freshness to embrace the entire blend with balance, leaving us no loose ends. The wood work is now completely blended in; a new profile that quite pleased me in this absolutely gorgeous white.

The big surprise was saved until the end of the tasting; a wine created together with others by Vasco Maria Eugénio de Almeida, to celebrate the 50 years of the Eugénio de Almeida Foundation. The lot – composed by Arinto, Assario and Roupeiro varieties grown in old vines – in the Cartuxa 50 Years white 2012 fermented completely for 25 days. If we look at this company’s historic wines, they always appeared as outrageous to an inattentive customer; this time, its shades of orange are what raise your curiosity. The wine has this fantastic complexity: a distinct bouquet of aromas of very clean ripe fruit, orange, lemon, aromatic herbs, anise; very captivating and different from all the rest. Somewhere in-between, a generous amount of freshness also joins the party.

With the table composed at a high level, it was time to change the tone of the tasting, and reds took over the stage. The conversation started with oenologist Pedro Baptista presenting Cartuxa 2012; just like the white, its attention is turned to the quality and purity of the ripe fruit, evoking the more classic profile this area of Alentejo got us accustomed to. Still full of vigour, full of spices and a pinch of vegetable, it replicates the nose tasting in the mouth tasting; ample and daring to tease our senses, very lively, and with unpolished bold tannins at the end of the mouth. The jump was taken towards Cartuxa Reserva 2012 appearing more serious, as expected, although maintaining a classic tune, adding the energy from the Alicante Bouschet to Aragonez’s generosity; something of a sweet tooth with notes of liquorish, ripe fruit in a refreshing blend, although proving more polished and more engaging. Rich in flavour in the palate, it appears on a higher level than its prior, a change felt in every aspect.

The climax of the tasting of the reds was reached with the presentation of Cartuxa 50 Years red 2011, in which Alicante Bouschet shines together with the Syrah. This wine, special in every way, appears dense, dark, mysterious, and making a fantastic slow revealing of its complexity in the glass. The plump and juicy fruit emerges fresh, well outlined; a delight to the senses, bursting with flavour in the palate along with some herbs, cocoa, and such. A real giant with years of life ahead of it, delighting me, and checking all my toughest boxes. Fantastic. In the glass next to that was Adega da Cartuxa’s height of splendour, born for the first time in 1990; Pêra Manca red 2010. In no way comparable to the previous wine, it stood on the opposite corner of the arena, seeing as what’s important here is the finesse and harmony of its components coming together in a tune of pure class, with freshness and high calibre fruit. Let’s say it’s the kind of wine you drink and enjoy deeply; you don’t get tired of it, you always feel like having another glass, and another, until the bottle’s empty. It’s a great wine on every level; it found itself back on the hall of fame and is now on that top level the brand had made me used to.

Contacts
Páteo de São Miguel
Apartado 2001
7001-901 Évora
Évora-Portugal
Tel: (+351) 266 748 300
Tel: (+ 351) 266 705 149
E-mail: geral@fea.pt
Website: www.cartuxa.pt