Antonio Madeira ' Dão Branco Vinhas Velhas 2023 '

The winery behind this wine is António Madeira, a small, artisanal winemaker in the Dão region of Portugal. António grew up with Portuguese roots and spent years in France, but returned to the Serra da Estrela (Portugal's highest mountain range) to make wine from old, traditional grape varieties that have been growing there for generations. He strongly believes in buying and revitalising very old vineyards, some of the vines are between 50 and 120 years old, and works with a wide variety of indigenous grape varieties that are often no longer found anywhere else.

Description: Fresh and crispy with an almost saline minerality, a vibrant acidity and a powerful, elegant body. The finish is long and intense, with notes of wet granite/stone that emphasise the terroir expression.

Pairs well with: Raw fish with herbs and lemon, roasted chicken, grilled vegetables and Mediterranean salads, salty cheeses.

Fun fact: The vineyards are managed organically and often biodynamically, and winemaking is done with minimal intervention and spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts. Often with no or very little added sulphites and without filtration, which keeps the wines pure and lively. This approach has quickly made him a name as one of Portugal's most interesting natural winemakers, and his wines regularly score highly with international critics such as James Suckling and Vinous.