Casa Cadaval

Casa Cadaval by ANTHONY STOCKBRIDGE

Casa Cadaval was definitely ‘something else’.  At 5,400 ha., it is the largest estate in Portugal and, with over 13,000 acres, one can do almost anything and they do!  Sitting on straw bales in a cart pulled by a Land Rover, we toured a small part of the estate where, in addition to 50 ha. of vines there are 3,000 ha. of cork oak, 80 breeding Lusitanos pure bred horses, 600 cattle, melons, carrots, potatoes, rice ……  This was farming on the grand scale and has been in the same family for more than 350 years. 

The charming Teresa Alvares Pereira de Schönborn – Wiesenthied is the current generation at the helm and we had the honour and pleasure of her company at lunch.

We tasted 10 wines, amongst which the following are worthy of note.

2009 Padre Pedro Rosé.  Padre Pedro is Casa Cadaval’s entry-level brand and offers amazing value for money.The Rosé is a blend of Touriga Nacional (50%), Aragonez (30%) and Merlot (20%).

It exuded fresh strawberry jam on the nose and this was followed by a just off-dry palate (3.8 gm sugar) exploding with ripe red fruit and soft acidity.  An excellent wine for a summer picnic.

We tasted three vintages of Casa Cadaval Cabernet Sauvignon from 50 year old vines treated to 18 months in French oak: 2007, 1995 and 1994.

The 2007 needs another few years in bottle to reach its potential, the first bottle of 1994 was drying out but the second showed an interesting complexity.  For me, it was the 1995 that was the star.  After fifteen years, there was a trace of primary fruit aromas on the nose but the palate was fully developed and showed attractive dried fruit and spices with leather and cedar wood followed by a long, clean finish.

2007 Marquesa de Cadaval is the flagship brand and accurately reflects the noble ancestry of the estate and is only produced in exceptional vintages and then, only in limited quantities (3,000 bottles in 2007).

Touriga Nacional (60%), Trincadeira (30%), Alicante Bouschet (10%)

Dried fruit, and violets complimented by vegetal and chocolate notes on the nose were followed by an elegant, balanced wine of great complexity with silky tannins and a long, smooth finish.

Casa de Cadaval by MARISA d’VARI

The American perspective.

Catering to the international market is of key importance to this family-run corporation, which has been in existence since 1648 and now exports to Europe, America, Africa, and the Far East. As of 1994, they have completely modernized the winery, so great care is taken in training and pruning the vines. The winery also has a new drip irrigation system and was one of the first wineries in Portugal to focus on single varietals and single vineyards.


Our hostess Teresa Castro Pereira, the owner who decended from the Portugeuse General Nuno Alvarez Pereira, led the tasting which began with the whites from the Padre Pedro brand (Tejo DOC) including Arinto, Fernão Pires, Verdelho, and Viognier.  These four wines are excellent examples of varietals that can do very well in the upper-end American market. I especially liked the Arinto with its refreshing acidity and Fernão Pires with its aromatic characteristics.

The Cabernet Sauvignon was one of my favorites of the reds, as it had incredible structure and balance and is very in tune with demands of the international market. The Touriga Nacional was extremely well-balanced and though a 'foreign grape' had the kind of structure and palate that would be very well received in New York. Pinot Noir is a personal passion of this winery given the German heritage of its founder, and while it was delightful to taste, one wonders about the marketing challenges in the international marketplace as a consumer has many more recognized regions to choose from. Trincadeira is a solidly structured red (local grape variety) which was very good and well-balanced, yet may need some more publicity in the American market.


One of the most important observations to make about Casa de Cadaval is that it is a winery focused on quality, attaining the newest technological advances, and focusing on consumer demand. The winery has multiple sources of income (cows, rice factory, sports and leisure, horses) so their wine program is well-capitalized and seems positioned for success.