March 2024 - Clube de Vinhos
Vigno Dao Red 2020
Region: Dão.
Grape varieties: Alfrocheiro, Jaen, Touriga Nacional.
Winemaker: Elise Freire Lobo began her winemaking career in 1996, working and studying in the Bairrada region at Caves São João and the following year in the Douro with Anselmo Mendes. Being that she grew up in the Dão region, the oldest non-liqueur DOC in Portugal, she decided to return to her roots where she quickly became the very first woman winemaker in the region.
Soil: Granite/Clay.
Vinification: Indigenous yeast fermented, Open-top Wood Vat Fermented, Skin contact, Stainless Steel Vat Fermented & Aged, Whole Cluster Fermented
Notes: Wild berry fruit aromas. On the Palate is full bodied with a long finish.
Suggested Serving Temp: 60º to 65ºC
Food Pairing: Pastas with red sauce, mushroom risottos.
Quinta Da Alorna Reserva White 2016
Region: Tejo.
Grape varieties: Arinto, Chardonnay.
Winemaker: Born in the USA Martta moved to Portugal at a young age and would help with the harvest at the families vineyard every year. Her father became interested in winemaking and opened a cellar, therefore winemaking was always a constant in her life. It was natural for her total an Enology course. She won several awards during her internships when shortly after she took over the Enology Department at Quinta da Alorna. She had her first baby during her very first harvest there! She toted around her newborn from the vineyard to the cellar, managing interns and employees. To this day she wonders “how that was humanly possible”. Can you say Super Women?? Martta has won quite a few awards in wine-making and her wines are loved by critics all over the world….most importantly they bring pleasure to all that consume it!
Soil: Sandy – Loam.
Vinification: The grapes, harvested separately, pressed in long and gentle cycles during the morning period. After the clarification of the musts, Arinto ferments in stainless steel vats at 17º C. 50% of Chardonnay ferments in new American oak casks ageing over fine less for 4 months. After the final batch was prepared, the wine was stabilized and filtered before bottling.
Notes: Citrus notes and Arinto minerality, ripe yellow fruit and toasted Chardonnay nuances. Smooth and balanced.
Suggested Serving Temp: Serve between 50°F and 55°F.
Food Pairing: Intense fishes, Curry, Soft cheeses, Cod au gratin.
Dona Ermelinda Reserva 2021
Region: Setubal.
Grape varieties: Castelão, Touriga Nacional, Trincadeira, Cabernet Sauvignon.
The winery was established in 1920 by Leonilde Freitas, continued by his granddaughter, Germana Freitas, and later by his great-granddaughter, Ermelinda Freitas, to whom Casa Ermelinda Freitas owes its name. With the premature death of her husband, Manuel João de Freitas, Ermelinda Freitas continued to manage the company with her only daughter, Leonor Freitas, who took command and consolidated the tradition of having women running the company. A winery that since its very beginning has been run by women, becoming one of the top wineries in Portugal.
Soil: Sandy soil.
Vinification: Fermentation in stainless steel, temperature controlled vats, followed by 20 day period of extended maceration. Aged for 12 months in French oak half barrels, followed by a further 8 months in the bottle.
Notes: A garnet-coloured, almost opaque wine, with aromas reminiscent of dark fruit, spices and smoke, and hints of jam due to the lengthy period of maturation. Dense, full on the palate, and well structured. Tannins are present, but are soft and well integrated. A finish that is extremely pleasant, long-lasting and persistent.
Suggested Serving Temp: 60ºF.
Food Pairing: Red meats with roasted vegetables.
Casa De Saima Baga Grande Reserva 2014
Region: Bairrada.
Grape varieties: Baga.
Producer: Graça Maria.
Graça Maria tends to the vines with biodynamic practices and integrated practices. She seeks to balance the soil and vines in order to ensure the health of the vineyards for the future. Graça picked her husband’s family winery, her husband is doctor so, he didn’t invest time in his family winery. She then took over and took this local winery into the best foreign markets, although the scale of this winery has always been micro, she elevated the quality of the wines. She was in all the fronts of this project, overseeing vinification, winemaking and also doing public relations, maintaining contact with the international distributors.
Soil: Chalky clay.
Vinification: Vinified in lagares with spontaneous fermentation for three weeks, then allowed to rest for 18 months in oak barrel. Everything is done naturally and without filtration, with minimal intervention to allow the expression of the unique terroir of these old vines.
Notes: Complex with notes of red f ruits and intense flavoured tannins. Freshness and elegance with a very long and authentic af tertaste, according to its tradition.
Suggested Serving Temp: 60° to 64°F.
Food Pairing: Smoked duck breast with cherry or even cranberry sauce.
Filipa Pato 3B Rose
Region: Bairrada.
Grape varieties: Baga, Bical.
Winemaker: Filipa Pato - winegrower in Bairrada. Graduating from the University of Coimbra as a Chemical Engineer, she refined her Winemaker skills doing harvests in Bordeaux, France - Mendoza, Argentina and Margaret River, Australia, and with her father Luis Pato, the Baga rebel. Although her father is one of the most reputable producers in the region, Filipa as more than stand out on her own. She has become a superstar among the wine industry as a world class producer. She is nown for producing wine that are made with minimal intervention, but without losing quality, instead producing wines that transmit terroir like few others.
Soil: Chalky clay midslopes from the Jurassic Inferior.
Vinification: Traditional method, second fermentation in bottle, unfiltered and unfined to maintain the maximum natural flavours and maintain the quality of bubbles in the wine. Extra Brut.
Notes: A clear salmon rosé color with fine bubbles. The nose is very expressive with hints of strawberries, pomegranate and anise. The mouth is refined, creamy, relatively smooth and has a very present minerality. The middle palate is fruitdriven and the aftertaste is dry and refreshing.
Suggested Serving Temp: 50ºF to 55°F,
Food Pairing: A perfect aperitif and excellent with oriental and Asiatic cuisine.
Dona Antonia 10 Year Tawny
Region: Douro.
Grape varieties: Tinta Amarela; Tinta Barroca; Tinta Cão; Tinta Roriz; Touriga Franca; Touriga Nacional.
Winemaker: Luis Sotto Mayor.
Soil: Sourced form various parts of the douro, schist, slate and granite soils.
Vinification: The wines selected to enter the final blend of the Porto Ferreira Dona Antónia Tawny 10 Years Old remain in the Douro after the harvest and are taken to V.N.Gaia in the following Spring and enter the traditional Porto Wine ageing process, in oak casks. During their ageing period, the wines are subjected to numerous transfers, analyses and tasting, making it possible to monitor their ageing and intervene through blending, refreshing and corrections whenever tasting so advises. The final blend is obtained using wines aged between 8 and 15 years, so as always to achieve the average age, quality and style of Porto Ferreira Dona Antónia Tawny 10 Years Old.
Notes: Porto Ferreira Dona Antónia Tawny 10 Years Old has a deep tawny hue with red hints. Its aroma is characterised by an excellent balance between the quality of its original grapes and wine (noticeable in its floral and ripe fruit aromas) and its ageing through oxidation in wood (which gives it spicy and nutty aromas).
Suggested Serving Temp: 60° F
Food Pairing: Served slightly chilled, goes well with various rich starters, including foie-gras or intense cheese pies, salty vol-au-vents or creamy sea-food. At the end of a meal, it is an ideal wine to match desserts such as nut and dry fruit tarts, crème brûlée and cured or blue cheese, or when served on its own.
Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira:
Part of the 4th generation of the Ferreira family in the Douro, which had risen to prominence in the cultivation of wine and production of Port Wine, Dona Antónia was an heiress to a great fortune, but she did not limit herself to merely managing the wealth she inherited. She invested passionately and intensely in the Douro region that she loved, without waiting for any support or protection from the State. A respected negotiator and proprietor, she knew how to overcome the growing difficulties of being a woman in an essentially male world. Dona Antónia deepened the values and culture of a traditional family business; always open to innovation, she paid attention to the evolution of the latest developments in the wine sector. She was therefore able to combine tradition with new techniques relating to wine production, and even bottling systems. She maintained that quality was paramount when it came to the reputation of the company. It was this brave attitude that solidified her fine reputation in the wine world.