The Carmo Vinhos Estate
Carmo Vinhos wines are produced at Henriques & Henriques Vinhos S. A.that was founded in 1850 by Joao Joachim Henriques. Associated are: Belem’s Madeira Wine Lda. (founded in 1932), Casa dos Vinhos da Madeira Lda. (founded in 1932), Carmo Vinhos Lda.: Carmo Vinhos was established in 1928 to ship Madeira wine to Sweden. In 1944, the company started to diversify its markets and included other Scandinavian markets and eventually Austria, Germany, the U.S.A. as well as Japan . For many years Carmo Vinhos were the producers and bottlers of Madeira wines for Harveys of Bristol for the British market and also for Australia , New Zealand and Denmark .
Carmo's wines have long been appreciated by many connaisseurs all over the world as fine classical Madeira wines
Henriques & Henriques is now the largest producer of Madeira wines in the island. Today the company is run by John Cossart whose father Peter Cossart entered the firm in 1938.
The Carmo Vinhos Vineyard
Contrary to most other Madeira wine producing companies, Henriques y Henriques owns some vineyards. In the 1990's they even established a new vineyard of 10 hectares (24.7 acres) which is accessible to machines. Also they built a new adega in Quinta Grande so that the company can work with state of the art equipment. All the vinification and estufagem (oven process) is done here. The wines then mature down in the Belem lodge.
Madeira lies isolated in the Atlantic some 400 miles west of the Moroccan coast. Its volcanic soil and sub-tropical climate produce grapes with flavors that are particularly intense and individual. The varied and distinctive styles of Madeira wine owe much of their character to gentle heating by the unique “estufa” process.
Carmo Vinhos Madeira Malmsey 10 Yr is richest style of Madeira. With a deep amber color, this intense wine has a complex flavor of walnuts, dried fruits, coffee and caramel. Full body hiding the acidity and a very long finish. An excellent accompaniment to coffee.
Carmo Vinhos Madeira Sercial 10 Yr is the driest style of Madeira, a light bodied wine with a distinctive nutty nose. An excellent apertif. The concentration at this age has produced a very attractive and interesting wine, with a long finish.
Carmo Vinhos Madeira Verdejo 10 Yr an amber medium dry wine with medium body and acidity. Rich aroma and flavor of dried fruits, nuts and caramel, showing a vibrant character, lengthy and well balanced. An excellent aperitif or as an accompaniment to pates.
Pazo de Senorans Seleccion de Anada Albarino is made from 100 percent Albarino.
Straw yellow with greenish tints, vivid and brilliant. High intensity and very expressive. Profusion of aromas with traces of mineral. Great volume and ample body leaving a lasting impression from beginning to end.
Reviews:
The 2015 Albariño Selección de Añada is nothing short of phenomenal. For some reason, I hadn't tasted the young 2015 Albariño at the time it was released. It comes from the Los Bancales vineyard planted some 50 years ago and fermented with indigenous yeasts but without malolactic fermentation. It has a bright, almost fluorescent color and a complex, subtle and nuanced, elegant and expressive nose, with notes of sea shells and sea breeze, grass and white flowers. It's very clean, and the palate shows great balance and even feels a bit young. It has remarkable acidity and freshness (seven grams of tartaric acid) with good ripeness and 13% alcohol. This matured in tank with lees for over 30 months and was bottled in June 2024. It feels more serious and less exotic than earlier vintages. 18,000 bottles produced. This is the finest vintage that I can remember. Bravo!
-Wine Advocate 97 Points
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