Listrão (83%) and Caracol (17%).
The island of Porto Santo emerged 14 million years ago in the Atlantic Ocean and is geologically one of the oldest islands in the Portuguese archipelagos. It was also the first to be discovered by Zarco in 1418. The ancients said that this was where they came to pick the ripest grapes to make the wine that made these islands famous. Today there are less than 14 hectares left, cultivated by a handful of hardy people. On the neighboring island, they call the Porto Santenses "Prophets", an old nickname that has never made so much sense when you see these old vines, with their creeping vineyards, protected from the winds and sea air by crocheted walls or skillful reed structures.
Crosta Calcária is a geological zone in the north of the island of Porto Santo, where the limestone profile becomes compacted, giving the wines an additional minerality, transporting us to sea shells and another dimension of wine.
Vineyard management: traditional, close to the ground, protected from strong winds by reeds or crochet walls. Vineyard age: 40 to 80 years. Soils: limestone with a sandy loam texture and pH>8.5.
633 numbered 0.75L bottles released in August 2023.
The grapes were harvested by hand and vinified for the first time on the island of Porto Santo. Tight selection in the vineyard, with some vines being harvested more than once, picking the ripest first and the rest in a second harvest. Direct pressing of the whole bunch into decanting tanks, with three fractions being separated, without any use of SO2 until the end of fermentation, in order to allow pre-oxidation of the must and fuller spontaneous fermentation. The musts fermented on their lees in 250L and 500L stainless steel vats and 228L barrels, where they were aged for a total of 11 months.
Store at 6-8ºC to drink at 10ºC.
