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Raymond Reynolds Ltd
Raymond Reynolds Ltd
 
Casal Figueira

Casal Figueira

Casal Figueira

Marta Soares, Vermelha, Portugal


Winemaker Marta Soares

Region Lisboa

Country Portugal

Soil Type Sand

Main Varieties Vital

Casal Figueira

An inspiring story of passion, love and commitment. An end which leaves a special legacy and keeps us smiling.  A story that needs to be re-told.

There was once a passionate young man called António who’s family owned and tended vineyards on the limestone hills of the Montejunto, 1 hr north of Lisbon near the coastal town of Peniche.

In France (Montpellier) he studied viticulture and winemaking, returning to Portugal with the energy and enthusiasm to make his own wines from the family vineyards. These included Vital and Castelão grape varieties as well as Roussanne and Marsanne.

António Carvalho was one of Portugal’s first winemakers to explore the careful low-intervention way, creating some truly authentic wines. His knowledge of the terroir and grape varieties was immense.

Raymond came across António wines in 2005 and was hugely impressed. He saw them as the perfect example of the future for Portugal’s wines, but lost contact with him before establishing a working partnership.

António’s approach and artistic flare drew him to his future partner Marta Soares, a budding artist from Lisbon. Their romance blossomed. They raised a small family alongside each other’s creative journeys, whilst establishing their own Casal Figueira project.

António and Marta sought out the old low yielding vineyards around the villages of Perreiro and Avenal, deep in the hills where the Vital and Castelão grapes flourished in de facto biodynamic agriculture. A very unique landscape and geography.

Their Casal Figueira wines truly reflect the terroir and gained notoriety for their purity simplicity and balance. Tragically António died during the 2009 harvest leaving Marta to manage both family and winery.

Later, and having closely followed her progress, Raymond did eventually meet Marta and we’ve had the privilege of importing her Casal Figueira wines since 2011.

Marta, wanting to continue their joint project and António’s legacy, chose to keep making the wines, embracing this with all her energies. To honour António, she named their main white wine after him.

With the help of friends and other local winemakers she forged António’s legacy in the wines she made until 2023, when circumstances emotionally put paid to this beautiful small enterprise.

We are lucky to still have some of those great yet humble bottlings and commend them to you with loud voice and heart.

They are rare and unique.

Filters

Adiado Tinto

Antonio

Vermelho Tinto