Winemaker Notes
Vale do Inferno was built by Sophia Bergqvist's great grandfather, Albert Feurheerd, just before the First World War and is situated along the banks of the Douro, two kilometres from Pinhao. The vineyard boasts some of the highest dry stone terrace walls in the Douro, towering up to 6 metres high. Ramps, instead of steps, were built into the walls allowing mules to plough the whole vineyard. This was quite unusual for the time.
Vale do Inferno has mixed planting of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz and Tinta Amarela. A few of the vines date back to Sophia's great grandfather's original plantation.
1999 was the first year that Vale do Inferno was farmed using organic methods and we were pleased with the results. Fortunately the weather was relatively kind to us although weed control was an issue.
Whilst the summer was hot, the weather broke much earlier than normal due to the remnants of Hurricane Floyd dissipating the usual protective Azores high. With the risk of unsettled weather setting in, La Rosa started vintaging on 19th September. Vale do Inferno was the first vineyard to be picked and was trodden in the smallest granite lagare over a five day period. Cold weather meant that the fermentation was slow allowing for plenty of extraction. The port was then stored in a large oak cask, Tonel 8, for two years before bottling. Very concentrated fruit has resulted in a powerful Vintage port with deep berry flavours.
Overall 1999 was a good year with many port houses declaring the last vintage of the century. Yields from Vale do Inferno are low so only 5,500 bottles were bottled.
Port is a sweet, fortified wine with numerous styles: Ruby, Tawny, Vintage, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), White, Colheita, and a few unusual others. It is blended from from the most important red grapes of the Douro Valley, based primarily on Touriga Nacional with over 80 other varieties approved for use. Most Ports are best served slightly chilled at around 55-65°F. To learn more, see our full Port Wine Guide
Best known for intense, impressive and age-worthy fortified wines, Portugal relies almost exclusively on its many indigenous grape varieties. Bordering Spain to its north and east, and the Atlantic Ocean on its west and south coasts, this is a land where tradition reigns supreme, due to its relative geographical and, for much of the 20th century, political isolation. A long and narrow but small country, Portugal claims considerable diversity in climate and wine styles, with milder weather in the north and significantly more rainfall near the coast.
While Port (named after its city of Oporto on the Atlantic Coast at the end of the Douro Valley), made Portugal famous, Portugal is also an excellent source of dry red and white Portuguese wines of various styles.
The Douro Valley produces full-bodied and concentrated dry red Portuguese wines made from the same set of grape varieties used for Port, which include Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz (Spain’s Tempranillo), Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca and Tinto Cão, among a long list of others in minor proportions.
Other dry Portuguese wines include the tart, slightly effervescent Vinho Verde white wine, made in the north, and the bright, elegant reds and whites of the Dão as well as the bold, and fruit-driven reds and whites of the southern, Alentejo.
The nation’s other important fortified wine, Madeira, is produced on the eponymous island off the North African coast.