Description

What am I: Antonio Madeira Colheita Branco white wine

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.

As the entry-level white wine, the Antonio Madeira Colheita Branco white wine is a mix of vineyards and varieties. Fresh, vibrant, and laden with minerality it is a textbook example of the impact of granite soils. More crisp than chewy, the mix of vineyards has an average age of over 50-years old. The wine has a hint of salinity, a good citrine fruit presence, and just a bit of savory character. This is one of our favorite summer picnic wines… it works whenever tasty white wine is needed.