White Wine

Mirabilis

2023, 75cl

Douro

Mirabilis

Mirabilis, as the Latin name suggests, is a marvellous wine. Since 2008, a detailed study has been underway to explore the possibility of creating a Grand White from the Douro, involving meticulous work and an ongoing search for small growers with old and very old vines. This project spanned several years of research into bottle ageing across different lots, in order to understand the perfect harmony with oak. A long journey to the land of Burgundy brought the final touch needed to craft a dream white wine.

Unique and the result of resilient viticulture, Mirabilis Branco 2023 comes from rare raw material and embodies the dream of going further — of producing a wine from the Douro for the World. To enter the world of Mirabilis is to transcend territorial boundaries — to create, with energy and conviction, an unrepeatable wine made to endure through time.

This white is born from very old and centenarian vines, where native grape varieties such as Viosinho and Gouveio predominate, alongside other extremely rare varieties, some of which are nearly extinct in the region. Planted at over 500 metres of altitude, in the municipalities of Murça, Alijó and Sabrosa, these vines grow in granite and schist–granite transition soils. The natural poverty of the soil and the age of the vines limit yields to less than 2300 kg/ha, resulting in small, concentrated berries of great purity.

The 2023 harvest was marked by rigorous and careful selection, with close monitoring of the ripening of each plot. Fermentation and ageing took place mostly in carefully selected French oak barrels, with a small portion of the blend aged in raw cement vats, where freshness and mineral character are revealed with clarity and finesse.

Additional winemaking notes
Grapes: Centenarian Vineyard (35%), Gouveio (35%), Viosinho (30%)
Pressing: Whole bunch
Ageing: Final fermentation in 300 L barrels and cement vats. Aged for 10 months: 50% in new 300 L French oak barrels (Tronçais, Vosges, Nevers and Jura), 30% in second and third-use barrels, 20% in cement vats.
Bottling: June 2024

Winemaker: António Bastos

Awards

2022 | 95 pts, Público – Fugas, Portugal
2022 | 94 pts, Revista de Vinhos, Portugal
2022 | 19 pts, Revista Evasões, Portugal
2022 | 18,5 pts, Revista Vinho Grandes Escolhas, Portugal
2022 | 93 pts, jamessuckling.com
2021 | 18 pts, Excelência, Revista Paixão pelo Vinho, Portugal
2021 | 93 pts, Altamente Recomendado, Revista de Vinhos, Portugal
2021 | 18 pts, Revista Vinho Grandes Escolhas, Portugal
2021 | 93 pts, jamessuckling.com
2021 | 92 pts, Wine Enthusiast, Roger Voss, EUA
2021 | 91 pts, Wine Spectator, Alison Napjus, EUA
2020 | 94 pts, Wine Advocate, Robert Parker, EUA
2020 | 93 pts, Cellar Selection, Wine Enthusiast, Roger Voss, EUA
2020 | 18 pts, Altamente Recomendado, Revista de Vinhos, Portugal
2020 | 18 pts, Revista Vinho Grandes Escolhas, Portugal
2019 | 92+ pts, Wine Advocate, Robert Parker, Mark Squires, EUA
2019 | #6, Top 100 in 2021, Vivino Community, EUA
2018 | 98 pts, Público – Fugas, Portugal

Allergens information

Contains sulphites.

Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo

Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo is a place of extreme beauty in the heart of Douro valley and owned by Amorim family since 1999.
The family connection to the wine comes from afar, through its connection with the export houses of Vila Nova de Gaia in the cork business. Meanwhile the dream came true and the project is now in the hands of the 4th generation of the family.
With a story longer than 250 years, the property displays conserved structures and the cellar original building from 1764, after interventions by the architect Arnaldo Barbosa.
But the «quinta» is much earlier than this and history confirms it as a great land belonging to the Portuguese Royal House, having been identified its first owner in 1725.
The winery produced more than 3,500 barrels of wine from neighboring estates and it was soon ‘integrated in the first demarcation of the region’. The historic sites that are still preserved give notice to this historic weight.
An entrepreneur spirit and family vision did however the difference because, combined with a passionate commitment to the future, determined the beginning of multiple changes to a path of oenological excellence.

Address

Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo, S.A

Quinta Nova
5085-222 Covas do Douro – Portugal