Ontem Tinto 2016

Grape Varieties: Field blend of old grape varieties including Rufete, Baga, João de Santarém, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz and many others.

Vineyards: This wine comes from an old and forgotten unmarked region, just south of the Douro border. Old vineyards (80-100 years old), high altitude (700m), granitic soils, mix of various white and red grape varieties, beautiful exposure to East, and especially a group of people who cherish the vineyards as their grandparents did. This small project intends not to let this place disappear, nor to replace its old vines with more productive ones.

Winemaking: Hand-picked grapes for small boxes, perfectly matured, and then hand-trodden (pigeage) in a small stainless steel vat, in the traditional way, fermented with indigenous yeasts, with minimal intervention for a smooth extraction, to emphasize the elegance and smoothness of the original terroir.

Ageing: 20 months in used French oak barrels.

Winemaker: Rita Marques, Manuel Sapage.