Description

What am I: Antonio Madeira Ainda Palhete

Antonio Madeira, native Portuguese but raised in France, trained as an engineer. After some time he decided to return to his ancestral home in the Dão region at the foot of the Serra Estrela. One of his goals was to identify the tiny forgotten vineyards that could be considered the Grand Cru vineyards of Dão. Antonio worked closely with the owners of these vineyards to develop trust. Along the way, he shared with them his idea to work with small vineyard holdings to protect them from being ripped out in the name of progress.

Over time he slowly built up a group of over 15 small vineyards and more than 30 individual plots. These vineyards continue to be the backbone of his project. Antonio now owns some of his own vineyards, and his wines display a purity and elegance that prove the value of his original vision.

Antonio works these vineyards without any chemical intervention and uses mostly biodynamic principles. Extremely low-intervention and hands-off winemaking are used to showcase the granitic terroir of his native area. He uses no winemaking additives other than a small amount of sulfur in bottling.

Antonio Madeira Ainda Palhete is a field blend, a co-fermentation of red and white grapes from old vines. One of the plots is over 100 years old and it is worked in biodynamic cultivation. Natural winemaking and aging for 18 months in stainless steel vats.