Villa Oeiras 15 Anos Vinho Generoso, Carcavelos 500 mL

Benchmark of the appellation, Portugal's most diminutive and one of the smallest in Europe, Villa Oeiras Carcavelos 15-Year Old was the first Carcavelos imported to the US in many decades.

Produced from calcareous limestone slopes above the Tejo estuary as it opens out to the Atlantic, classic varieties Arinto, Gallego Dourado and Ratinho are hand-harvested and fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks before their long slumber in cellars beneath the former palace of the Marquis do Pombal, just west of Lisbon. Notes of dried sultana and apricot, bitter orange, roasted hazelnut and sea smoke underscore Carcavelos' oceanic influence, its concentration and sweet rancio spices lifted by elegant acidity and an energetic, resonant finish. It can be enjoyed on its own after dinner, or with a variety of cheeses and desserts. Serve lightly chilled; once opened, it will keep well for six months or more.