Casa da Passarella has a history of winemaking for over 200 years. The village of Lagarinhos, grew up alongside the Quinta, which has been a source of employment over time.
Casa da Passarella was founded in 1892, before Dão was demarcated as a wine region in 1908, and are founders of the region. The historic house on the property served to hide French-Jews en route to safe havens during WWII.
The Dão is south of The Douro Valley, inland towards the Spanish border. Passarella is in the Serra de Estrela – very high, cold, and poor soils in the ‘mountain to the stars’, the pass separating Portugal from Spain. The climate is continental, at an altitude of 600 meters and allows for long hang times, resulting in sleek ripe tannins, excellent acidity and overall freshness. The mountains protect from continental extremes of temperature and also from drenching Atlantic rains. Handling is traditional, in concrete vats and large old wood, with fruit manually crushed by ancient devices.
Winemaker Paulo Nunes respects the terroir of this 100 Hectare property of which 40 Hectares are in vineyards most of Touriga Nacional and 11 Hectares of Old Vines (60 – 100 years old). He seeks to produce wines that make a statement about “what the Dao can do” as a global winemaking region.
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