Antonio Madeira - Vinhas Velhas 2018
The António Madeira estate is located in the Serra da Estrela, a sub-region of Daõ in Portugal . António Madeira is a French winemaker of Portuguese origin. He grew up in Paris where he studied engineering at the Ecole Centrale, then worked for 15 years in Supply Chain Management consulting. In 2010, he decided to return to the land of his ancestors to produce wine there. At first, he took over micro-plots in seven villages in the Serra da Estrela. The hundred-year-old vines, planted with 40 indigenous grape varieties, were in a state of progressive abandonment. Today, António Madeira's vineyard is made up of 25 plots over an area of 8 hectares. His approach to the vineyard and the cellar is inspired by Burgundy: he seeks to apply these Burgundian working methods to the Dão terroirs, to express the terroir of each micro-plot. The region is wedged between several mountain ranges: to the West, the Serra do Buçaco protects from the humid winds coming from the Atlantic Ocean, to the East, the Serra da Estrela protects from the hot continental winds coming from Spain. The result is a very special climate which gives a natural acidity to the wine, characterized by freshness and finesse. In addition to working his vineyards in an ancestral way, with a pickaxe or horse, António Madeira adds modernity with biodynamic cultivation methods .
The Vinhas Velhas cuvée is a blend of Jaen (Mencia), Baga, Tinta Amarela and 20 other planted grape varieties . The age of the vines varies between 50 and 100 years. After the manual harvest, the harvest is de-stemmed and fermented in open vats with indigenous yeasts. Each parcel is vinified and matured separately, as for the Burgundy crus. The malolactic fermentation takes place in neutral barrels. The wine is aged for 18 months in neutral French oak barrels (225, 400 and 500 litres), then 3 months in stainless steel vats .
Grapes: Jaen (Mencia), Baga, Tinta Amarela + 20 other planted grape varieties
