Rosé 6-Pack Wine Details
Portugal makes incredible Rosé wines, both still and sparkling, and I’ve curated a 6-pack of my favorites for you. The wines span the Douro Valley, Lisbon, and Bairrada wine regions. Michelin-star Chef Henrique delivers a special dish to pair with the sparking Rosé. Cheers, saúde!
2019 Muxagat Rosé
Club Members have now received several examples of the incredible work being done at Muxagat (pronounced Moo-sha-got). The Winter 2020/21 pack featured the 2016 Tinto, the winery’s red blend. The Spring 2021 shipment delivered 2016 Muxagat Tinta Francisca and 2018 Branco. Muxagat is located in the tiny village of Meda almost 3 hours drive from Porto at the eastern end of the Douro Valley. The Douro is divided into three regions and you can refer to this wine map for orientation. The eastern-most region, far inland from Porto and the Atlantic Ocean is the Douro Superior. This part of Portugal can be rugged and feels remote, but also contains some of the country’s most prized vineyard land. With high elevation and big swings between daytime and nighttime temperatures, the Douro Superior has become a magnet for artisan wine producers. Muxagat has been making wines here since 2002.
Muxagat is a family-owned property, with Susana Lopes at the helm. Winemaking is overseen by the legendary, Luis Seabra, widely regarded as the best winemaker in the Douro and one of the most influential wine professionals in Portugal. Luis is joining Wine Club members for a live discussion on June 6 at 5pm ET!
Muxagat wines all begin with sustainable farming practices in the fields. Long-term health and vitality of the land is a major focal point for the team. Grapes for all Muxagat wines including the 2019 Rosé are all harvested by hand and sorted upon arrival at the winery. The Rosé is 50% Touriga Nacional and 50% Tinta Barroca. After pressing, the juice is split and half is fermented in stainless steel tank with the other half in used French oak barrels. The wine spends 9 months on the fine lees before being combined and bottled in May of 2020.
This process reveals a richer, more full-bodied Rosé wine. The wine is more intense and complex than many Rosés, which leads to enjoyment both with and without food. This lovely Rosé is not sold anywhere else in the United States and I am excited to bring it here for your enjoyment.
2018 Vadio Sparkling Rosé
Vadio is a family-owned and run project in the Bairrada wine region along the Atlantic Ocean between Porto and Lisbon. Vadio was founded in 2005 by husband and wife team, Luís Patrão and Eduarda Dias. Luís is a renown winemaker focused on extracting the traditional elements of the Bairrada’s natural grape varietals to produce authentic wines reflecting their place. Eduarda focuses on running the day-to-day operations.
Luís and Eduarda, along with extended family members, farm 7.5 hectares across 4 vineyards. The winery is based in the small village of Poutena. They practice organic farming to ensure the health of their land and vines and the sustainability of the region’s biodiversity. The Atlantic Ocean’s climate influences combined with clay and limestone soils and native varietals contribute to the uniqueness of Vadio’s wines. They are known for their red wines featuring the Baga grape and the production of some of Portugal’s best sparkling wines. When I first tasted their sparkling Rosé, I knew I had to bring it to the United States to share with other Rosé and sparking wine lovers.
The 2018 Vadio Sparkling Rosé is made from 100% Baga, a grape that is synonymous with the Bairrada region. Baga is the predominant red grape in Bairrada. It is a late ripening, vigorous grape of very small berries. In clay and limestone soils with good sunlight exposure, Baga can mature well and produce delicate yet nuanced wines. The vines that produce the sparkling Rosé are all 30-plus years in age and allow for Baga’s naturally high acidity to shine. Whole bunch clusters are pressed followed by fermentation part in used oak barrels and part in stainless steel tank. The final blend was done in January 2019 and then tirage. Tirage is a practice of making sparkling wines (including Champagne) where a liquid mixture of yeast, wine, and sugar is added to the still wine allowing for a secondary fermentation in bottle. After the second fermentation the wine ages 18 months before dégorgement in August 2020.
This sparking Rosé is pink-salmon in color and has thin yet persistent bubbles. The nose bursts with bright red fruit. In the mouth the wine is creamy yet fresh, rich, and well-balanced. My favorite Portuguese sparkling wine!
Chef Henrique of 2-Michelin Star restaurant, Alma in Lisbon has paired this wine for Wine Club Members with a special dish. Watch the instructional pairing video and access the recipe here.
2019 Pormenor Rosé
Pormenor means “details” in Portuguese, and Pedro Coelho, owner and winemaker of Pormenor is hyper focused on the details that count when delivering incredible wines. Pedro is one of my original producer partners and Club Members received the 2019 Reserva Branco and 2018 Tinto in the Spring 2021 shipment. One detail he insists upon is old vines, which are often difficult to find in the eastern parts of the Douro Valley where Pormenor resides. Pormenor has vineyards in both the Cima Corgo and Douro Superior sub regions of the Douro Valley. This area is home to many of the country’s emerging winemaking stars and Pormenor is at the leading edge of making artisan wines “of place” that reflect the best of the Douro Valley.
Pedro’s meticulous search for old vines landed him vineyards that range in age from 40 to 95 years. The qualities that old vines impart through the magic of Mother Nature yields a much different experience in our glass, especially with Rosé.
The first vintage of Pormenor was 2013, and Pedro’s approach to his wines starts in the vineyards. Another detail he refuses to bend on is the practice of organic farming to promote the health of his precious old vines. The 2019 Pormenor Rosé comes from 50-year old vines in the Cima Corgo. The vineyard is also at high elevation, between 1,500 and 1,800 feet above sea level which allows a more moderated impact of the summer heat common in the Douro Valley.
Harvests are by hand and Pedro’s aim is to make wines that reflect the beauty of the vines and land and thus another self-appointed detail is to stay out of Mother Nature’s way. In winemaking terms, this is minimal intervention and letting the fruit take its natural course toward the wine we are enjoying. 2019 Rosé is a blend of traditional, indigenous grapes of the Douro: Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, and Tinta Barroca. Harvest was the second week of September with optimal balance of natural alcohol level and acidity. Upon arriving at the winery the grapes are gently pressed with the juice decanting for 24 hours. Fermentation is natural with wild yeast and in used 225-liter French oak barrels with 7 months on fine lees (dead yeast cells). There is no temperature control during fermentation, no malolactic, and no battonage - a minimal approach in the cellar.
The wine has an incredibly clean look and feel. It is bright red, mineral in quality from the natural approach with fresh red fruits on the nose and mouth. The wine has good structure given the old vine grapes and can be enjoyed with or without food. I’m the sole source for this wine in America and I’m excited to introduce Pormenor’s Rosé to you!
2019 Quinta de Sant’Ana Rosé
Quinta de Sant’Ana is a breathtaking, historic property nestled in rolling vineyards between the Atlantic Ocean and Lisbon. James and Ana Frost, along with their seven sons and additional family members, infuse the Quinta with a genuine spirit and harness the property’s rich history of wine production and hospitality. James always says the wines are made in the vineyards, not the winery, and the care he and his family and winemaking team have for the land is clear. Situated less than 10 miles from the Atlantic coast and 300 to 450 feet above sea level, the Quinta is blessed with a unique microclimate of cool nights, cloudy, misty mornings, and sunny afternoons. The Atlantic climate sweeps across the electric patchwork of calcareous clay slopes with vines weaving into different aspects of valleys, peaks, and ridges. The resulting wines are fresh and elegant.
James and his winemaking team, headed by the esteemed Antonio Maçanita, began converting the vineyards to full organic farming in 2015 and achieved organic certification in 2018. Minimal intervention winemaking guides all decisions in the winery allowing the natural characteristics of the terroir to shine through in the wines.
Quinta de Sant’Ana 2019 Rosé comes from two vineyards on the property both south-facing. One is at the top of a hill on decomposing calcareous clay soil. The other at the bottom of the valley in cool, dark, deep soils with less sun exposure. The blend is of native varietals Touriga Nacional and Aragonez along with some Merlot. Harvests are by hand and was completed in mid-September for the 2019 growing season. Grapes are de-stemmed and crushed with the must settling for 24-hours at 44-degrees. Fermentation is in stainless steel tank at low temperature with native yeasts only. The wine is bottled after 5 months to maximize its aromatics.
Salmon-pink color, the wine is delicate and dry with fresh strawberry and raspberry characteristics. There are hints of vanilla and wild flowers and the wine has racy acidity. Enjoy as an aperitif or with food, this is a lovely display of the incredible potential in the Lisboa wine region combined with organic farming and minimal intervention winemaking.
2020 Aneto Rosé
Francisco Montenegro started Aneto Wines in 2001 on land his family has owned for multiple generations. Like many multi-generational farms in the Douro Valley, the family had sold quality fruit to port producers or other large, cooperative wineries. He farms 17 hectares though only a small portion of grapes grown are used in Aneto Wines. Grapes used for Aneto are from vineyards with age range between 25 and 80 years and harvested by hand.
17 hectares of vines span three farms across both the Baixo and Cima Corgo sub-regions of the Douro Valley, which provides a great interpretation of the heart of the Valley. This section of the Douro sees more traffic and tourism than Douro Superior given its proximity to Porto and better infrastructure for travel, but still feels rugged and ancient. Visiting wineries often requires appointments but gives a visitor an authentic view into artisan winemaking in an area that has 2,000 years of grape growing history. It is a memorable experience. Francisco is dedicated to sustainable farming practices to ensure the long-term health of his land. No synthetic products are used in the vineyards or the winery.
The 2020 Aneto Rosé is made from grapes native to this part of the Douro: Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca. The soil of the vineyards at Aneto is part schist and part granite and the climate is Mediterranean though the Atlantic Ocean still plays its part with cool nights even in the summer months. Once the grapes are harvested, they are sorted in the winery and pressed before a 24 hour settling in stainless steel tank. Fermentation is in stainless steel and done through native yeasts only over the course of a month. The wine is then bottled early the following year.
I first encountered Aneto Rosé in a tasting with owner-winemaker, Francisco at a resort local to his home and winery. The Rosé was the initial wine I tasted and it blew me away. It hits upon all of my favorite characteristics of this wine category: crisp without a sugary “dessert” taste, higher acidity that allows for the wine with or without food. Lower alcohol levels makes this a delicious option to enjoy over a longer period of time or multiple bottles with a group without being too heavy. I’m delighted to be the sole source of this wine in the United States… cheers!
2019 Aneto Rosé
I tasted the 2019 Aneto Rosé with Francisco at his winery in November of 2019. At that time the wine was in stainless steel tank though it was already showing incredible promise. We bottled it in January 2020 and it was one of the first wines I sold commercially in the United States. It literally flew off the shelves in Colorado wine shops and the few restaurants that were opened with outdoor dining and takeout during Covid. The wine is wonderful.
A year later we have less than 10 cases left of this wine for the entire country, and I have them all reserved for this special Rosé pack. The grapes and winemaking described above for the 2020 are aligned with the 2019 and stylistically the wines are aligned. There are variations in all vintages and the growing seasons from year-to-year are never exactly the same given Mother Nature at the weather controls. But this is a unique opportunity to taste both the 2019 and 2020 vintages of this delicious Rosé side-by-side and experience how a year of age impacts the wine in bottle. I’m grateful that the final bottles of this great vintage will be sent personally to you.