Chances are my readers will never have seen this wine in a shop and, considering there are only around 600 bottles of this first white wine from the producer, this is no surprise.
I found the wine at the Terroir Wine Shop and Kitchen in Carvoeiro and enjoyed one of the last few bottles they had in stock before the 2014 vintage is released.
Winemaker António Madeira is in fact a Frenchman of Portuguese descent who returned to his roots in the foothills of the Serra da Estrela buying up some old vineyards with vines of between 50 and 150 years of age set at between 500 and 600 metres’ altitude.
This white, technically a field blend given the large variety of grapes found in each vineyard, is made up predominantly of Síria, Fernão Pires and Arinto grapes.
The resulting wine, aged in used oak vats and hence with no sign of oakiness, is both complex and subtle at the same time. On the nose, mellow green fruit melds with light floral notes whilst in the mouth there is great minerality and a full fresh flavour, worth every cent of the €20 price tag.
I am looking forward to trying the 2014 vintage and sampling other wines soon to be launched from the same producer including a rosé in the new year.
By PATRICK STUART [email protected]
