WineWise Code

PDA-VRB23

Country

Portugal

Region

Dāo

Color/Style

White

Destemming

Complete

Fermentation Vessel

Stainless steel, Barrel

Additional Fermentation Notes

Total destemming and crushing in a pneumatic press, followed by natural decanting and spontaneous fermentation in cement eggs, Clayver ceramic, stainless steel and barrels, at a temperature of 18-22ºC. Complete malolactic fermentation. Ageing in the different vats on the fine lees for 11 months in a reductive environment. Racking and kept in stainless steel for 6 months until bottling. Natural decantation, the wine has not been clarified or filtered and may have a deposit.

Aging Vessel

40% New Barrique, 18% Stainless Steel, 20 other, 21% Concrete

Aging Duration (months)

11 months

Filtered?

No

Fining Agents

None

Yeast Protocol

Pied de Cuve

Malolactic Conversion

Yes

Additonal Maturation Details:

Ageing in the different vats on the fine lees for 11 months in a reductive environment. Racking and kept in stainless steel for 6 months until bottling. Natural decantation, the wine has not been clarified or filtered and may have a deposit. ÉLEVAGE: 11 months. 49% Encruzado from Vinha da Fonte Velha in new and used barrels (French and German/Austrian oak 400L - 600L), 12% Encruzado from Vinha da Fonte Velha in Clayver ceramic, 21% Encruzado from Vinha Romana in concrete egg and 18% Cerceal-Branco from Vinha Nascente and Bical from Vinha Celta in stainless steel. Then 6 months in stainless steel before bottling. Bottled in February 2025.

Added Sulfur

Yes, 57 mg/L

Varieties

82% Encruzado, 18% Cerceal-Branco and Bical

ABV

13

Acidity

5.42

pH

3.41

Closure

Natural cork

Annual Production

4,456 bottles

Certified Vegan

No

Other Wine Facts

Luís Lopes winemaker: Again, in this new vintage, we tried to show a Dão white wine blend with those three varieties, revealing how easily Dão can produce such wines full of salinity and freshness.

Primary Vineyard Name

VILA ROMANA - In our region of Dão there are countless traces of ancient civilizations, dating back to the 5th millennium BC, passing through the Celts and Romans. Even in our domaine, where several Roman artifacts were found (exhibited in the Carregal do Sal museum) linked to agriculture, when the vineyard that we now call the Vinha Romana was implemented in the 90s. According to the archaeologist we hired to help us explain our past, Domínio do Açor was probably a Roman farm at the time, which is why we named our entry-level wines Vila Romana.

Soil Types

Granite

Elevation (meters)

max 296m, min 283m

Vine Age

19-34

Yields (hl/ha)

40

Farming Practices

Certified organic, practicing biodynamic, practicing regenerative, certified sustainable; ECOCERT and GLOBAL G.A.P. AGRICERT certified

Harvest Method

Hand-harvested

Additional Harvest Notes

Each grape variety and each sector is harvested separately, seeking the maximum balance between grape maturity, acidity and potential alcohol content.

Other Vineyard Details

Encruzado from Vinha Romana (0,3ha, 20-year-old vines), Encruzado from Vinha da Fonte Velha (0,73ha, 35-year-old vines), Cerceal-Branco from Vinha da Fonte Velha and Bical from Vinha Celta. SOIL: Granitic. Very well mixed between soil and rocks, more precisely between the silt typical of granitic soils and sand, in addition to quartz and granite bedrock at depth. Alterites (rocks highly degraded by the chemical and physical processes of weathering) between levels 3 and 5 predominate throughout Domínio do Açor vineyards.