Vinho Verde is famous for crisp, youthful whites. Antonio Pereira does almost the opposite, working a rare red grape with red flesh and aging the wine for years before release.
Backstory
Pereira farms in Amarante, in the Vinho Verde region of northern Portugal, where his vineyards sit on the banks of the Tamega river. His focus is Tinta Nacional, an indigenous and increasingly scarce red variety, bottled under the name Tinto Bom.
The Region
Vinho Verde covers the green, rainy northwest of Portugal. The zone is dominated by white wine, much of it light and faintly sparkling, so a serious, long-aged red here is genuinely unusual. Amarante is one of the sub-regions, set inland along the Tamega.
Vineyards & Farming
The estate runs eight hectares across the Baseira and Freixo vineyards, with vines around 12 years old planted at 80 to 150 metres on granite soils. Farming is certified organic through Sativa, with conversion to Demeter biodynamic certification in progress. The harvest is entirely by hand and sorted.
Winemaking
Tinta Nacional is unusual in having both red skin and red flesh, giving deep colour and flavour. The grapes are destemmed, foot-trodden and fermented with wild yeasts in stainless steel. The wine is then aged in steel for an extended period, eight to ten months and often considerably longer across vintages, to soften it, an approach almost unheard of in Vinho Verde.
The Wines
Tinto Bom is the signature: a biodynamic, indigenous-variety red with a gentle fizz, made from wild-fermented Tinta Nacional and given the patience of long lees and tank aging before bottling.
