Vale de Capucha "Torres Vedras"

Grapes: Fernão Pires + Arinto 

Region: Torres Vedras, Portugal

Vintage: 2018

Viticulture: Organic

Soils: Kimmeridgian + Limestone + Clay

Yeasts: Native

Vinification:  Whole bunch, gently pressed under 1 bar. Natural cold settling before racking to ferment naturally, in stainless steel tanks.

Aging: 20 months maturation on lees, in stainless steel and different barrel sizes.

Fining or Filtering: None

Notes from the Importer: Vale da Capucha was started on the family property by Pedro Marques and his brother within the Torres Vedras DOC, 45 minutes northwest of Lisbon, and about 10 kilometers away from the Atlantic Ocean. He began his journey to running the estate when he was only a child, when he helped harvest every year. In 2003, he interned in California, and from there it was decided that winemaking would be his full time career.

After traveling around Portugal and other cooler-climate wine growing areas, he began the process of transforming the property in 2007, resulting in the release of their first vintage in 2009/2010. They planted the whole estate, 13 hectares, with local varieties like fernao pires, arinto, gouveio, alvarinho, castelao, and touriga nacional. There were a couple of French varieties at the beginning that didn't work as well, viognier and syrah, both of which were regrafted to local varieties by Pedro. The estate lies on the slopes above the family estate on a vein of Limestone from the Kimmeridgian era and enjoys a very temperate Atlantic climate. In essence, Torres Vedras resembles Muscadet more than Rioja.