The wines of CARM, Douro, Portugal

The wines of CARM, Douro, Portugal
Interesting wines from the Douro Superior

Website: www.carm.pt

CARM stands for Casa Agrícola Roboredo Madeira, and it’s a venture uniting six properties in the Douro superior, owned by the Roboredo Madeira family, with 90 hectares of vines to draw on in total. But there’s more than just vines here: olive oil and almonds are also produced from the family properties.

CARM’s vineyards are exclusively located in the rugged, remote Douro superior—the upper part of the Douro nearest to the Spanish border. It’s warm and dry here compared with the rest of the Douro, and the wildness of the terrain is frequently captured in the personality of the vines. These wines were tasted with João Paulo Roberedo, who is one of the family and looks after marketing.

The range has recently undergone a bit of a makeover and the bottles now look very stylish. A recent addition has been a wine with no added sulfur dioxide, and it’s a brave, distinctive Touriga Nacional with a lot of personality.

THE WINES

CARM Branco 2010 Douro
Nicely bright and fruity with crisp, lemony fruit and nice acidity. Some hints of peachy richness. A nice pure style. 86/100

CARM Reserva Branco 2009 Douro
Oak adds a hint of vanilla and some spice to the lovely pure citrus fruit. Great precision with nice acidity. 90/100

CARM Rosé 2010 Douro
Nice bright pink colour. Lovely tight, fresh cherry and berry fruit. Fruity style. 87/100

CARM Tinto 2008 Douro
Sweet ripe berry and cherry fruit here. Rich fruity style with some spicy notes. 87/100

CARM Reserva Tinto 2008 Douro
Ripe, juicy, spicy and tarry with focused berry fruits and some meaty, spicy definition. 90/100

CARM Grande Reserva 2007 Douro
Dense, rich, ripe and spicy with some tarry notes. Some oak but very rich and still well defined. Direct and fruity with good potential. 91/100

CARM Touriga Nacional 2009 No added sulphur dioxide
Vivid, bright and cherry/berry fruited with primary fruit to the fore. Vibrant in colour, this has a really youthful character. Some tannin. Unusual, with amazing cherryish fruit. Apparently, this wine changes dramatically in the bottle: it’s hard to pin down. 90/100