Carlos Raposo
Dão
A Niepoort Protégé Making Dão’s Most Elegant Wines
The Dão is one of the most unique wine growing regions in the world. It is just east of Bairrada, but surrounded by the largest amphitheater of mountains in Portugal, most notably the Serra da Estrela to the south east, mainland Portugal’s tallest mountain range. These mountains protect the Dão from the warm Iberian winds coming from the east as well as much of the humidity that is typical of the coast. This creates one of the coolest, and relatively dry, regions in Portugal. The Dão has long been called “The Burgundy” of Portugal, and while a subalpine region like the Northern Rhone might be a more apt comparison in terms of geography and climate, it does get one thing across: the wines are defined by elegance.
Carlos Raposo has been actively studying and making wine professionally since he was 15, when his parents shipped the rebellious teenager off to winemaking school. Something clicked immediately and Carlos knew he had discovered his life’s work. Applying his substantial intellect to wine instead of mischief, he excelled. He soon found himself in France, earning an additional two degrees, one in winemaking in Bordeaux, and another in vineyard management in Burgundy. This was followed by stints at wineries including Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte and Robert Craig Winery in Napa.
Upon returning to Portugal, Carlos was quickly recruited by Niepoort to make table wines (supposedly his job interview involved blind tasting DRC, Rousseau, and Raveneau to make sure his palate was up to snuff). He worked briefly under Luis Seabra, before assuming Seabra’s head winemaking role himself for all of Niepoort’s dry wines in Douro, Dao, and Vinho Verde in 2012. Carlos would go on to make some of the most celebrated wines ever at Niepoort.
But, just like his predecessor, it came time for Carlos to start his own project, and it became immediately clear that he had the ambition and skill to reach even higher heights when he was allowed to fully realize his own vision and creativity.
In 2020 Carlos founded World Wild Wines, a name representative of both his global perspective and his mission to put his home, the Dão, on the map as one of the world’s great wine regions. The project is based on the best old vineyards he can find from around the Dão, farmed with organic and biodynamic methods, and vinified in the most delicate way possible, emphasizing transparency and elegance over anything else.