Nine years after an "excellent" harvest in the Douro, the decision has been made. Barca-Velha 2015 hits the market before summer. From 1952 to today, only 21 harvests were worthy of bearing the "Barca-Velha" label. An oenological decision that at Sogrape is received with a mix of celebration and responsibility. “The announcement of a new Barca-Velha is always a very special moment of great joy. On the one hand, there is the pride of seeing the birth of one of the most emblematic and recognized national wines, and on the other, the awareness of the essential care to write a new chapter in this unique history in the wine sector”, comments Fernando da Cunha Guedes, president of Sogrape. Gracefulness, character and persistence are some of the adjectives that winemaker Luís de Sottomayor uses to describe the wine, but it was his aging capacity that dictated the final judgment regarding Barca-Velha 2015. “It was a short and atypical harvest, but very prosperous in quality, marked by little rain and two heat waves in June and July, which contributed to the production of very complex wines, with good structure and very present fruit”, describes the person responsible for whom there has always been a “huge conviction regarding to the fate of this harvest.” Declared only in "truly exceptional" years, Barca-Velha has, since its creation, been made with selected grapes from different altitudes in the Douro Superior. Quinta da Leda, with 170 hectares of vineyards, currently gives rise to the majority of the plot made up of the region's traditional grape varieties. Barca Velha 2015 will hit the market in June this year. Font: https://www.revistadevinhos.pt/noticias/2015-e-ano-de-barca-velha