2023. The 12 chimes (of the winemaker) of the year
The year is ending, and I had to leave here one, two… or twelve chimes of this turn around the sun that went so fast. This is also an opportunity to say goodbye to 2023, in which I was given the winemaker of the year award by Grandes Escolhas magazine. Ultimately, these are great reasons to share and thank all the good that has come my way and continues to come. And honestly, I just felt like sharing these things with you.
White Wine | Quinta do Ribeirinho Sercialinho – Luis Pato
The great Master Luis Pato is one of my professional references. A student of terroir and the creator of some of the best Portuguese wines, with whom I have had the privilege to cross paths here and there. Luis Pato, with this Sercialinho, surprises again and shows, once again, that Portuguese white wines can be eye to eye with the best in the world. It’s a wine as passionate and genuine as his videos on Instagram.
Alvito | A new challenge
Alentejo still has a lot to give, and in Alvito, a new project is born. We planted the vineyard in 2017 and finally started the cellar construction this year. It is beginning to show its shape and will be the home for its first harvest in 2024. Professionally, nothing else is as exciting as seeing a cellar being built and a new project taking shape. It’s called Herdade de Mujadarem, and I am hyped for my first harvest there.
Melides | Details matter
Sometimes, we need to take a step back to take a larger one forward. We haven’t yet made a harvest, and we made the difficult decision of taking out the vineyard and replanting. The vineyards weren’t as we wished them to be; the idea was to create something truly special, and with courage (a lot from the Charter Family), we decided to start all over again. We are drawing an incredible vineyard on the Melides slopes, organic and without irrigation, following the slopes and curves of the terrain as the good practices of soil management and natural irrigation ask for. The final result will for sure pay off the wait and commitment to this project.
Late Harvest | There is Botrytis at Adega Mãe
I spent the length of five harvests trying to achieve this result, which does not only need human hands to happen after all. Only Nature can provide a fundamental component, the appearance of Botrytis cinerea, which truly makes the wine unique. In this Adega Mãe 2021 Late Harvest, everything was right from the beginning, and the end result is a wine with the sweetness and the acidity super balanced. It might be one of the wines that will mark my career. And now the question arises… will we be able to repeat it?
Quinta dos Frades | A dream in Douro valley
This is a dream come true. It’s been a while since I started dreaming about joining this project, which I visited often with Anselmo Mendes. Getting there and witnessing all the potential leaves me even more excited. Quinta dos Frades has one of the largest areas of old vineyards, a good part over 100 years old, set in a historical estate and unique scenery. The expectations are high, and so are the responsibilities because great wines need to be on the horizon!
Travel | The return to Napa and Sonoma
Who said we shouldn’t go back to the places we were happy? Napa and Sonoma were, once again, the trip of the year. Returning to this place so special to me was incredible. I love the place, the cellars, the people, the rigour and the detail they place in every aspect of production. We always learn. And we also return with renewed ambition to achieve the same level of success they have in our own projects. Oh, mental note: the Alana Vineyard of Three Stick Wines really is a dream.
Touchdown | San Francisco 49ers at home
Because this winemaker doesn’t live on wine alone. I have a great passion for the NFL and for the 49ers. It’s a bug I kept from my days as an intern in California in 2003. I follow the season with dedication. And this year, I got to see a home game at the new Levi Stadium. Touchdown! It was a dream come true and another item off my lifetime checklist.
Celler de Can Roca | The dinner
A worldwide gastronomic temple considered the best restaurant in the world several times, Celler de Can Roca is an emotional experience. What can I say??! The taste, the balance, the purity, the welcoming, everything is unique there. And, of course, with one of the best cellars in the world, the pairing is perfect. Where are we going next?
We are going to… | Taberna Albricoque and Seixo
Easy, there is life beyond this. I was always a fan of the way Chef Bertílio Gomes cooks from Virgula, Casa da Comida, and Chapitô, but the truth is I hadn’t visited Taberna Albricoque yet. Absolute distraction. I recovered the lost time this year, and it has been so worth it. Bertilio is an amazing chef; his creativity has immense respect for the product, and he made this a mandatory place to visit for those who enjoy eating (and drinking) well. After this one, we have Seixo, amid Quinta do Seixo, in the heart of Douro Valley, close to Pinhão. The quiet revolution happening in Douro Valley, with a more significant investment in good tourism and presenting new solutions for the visiting tourists, is a great privilege to watch. And when we get restaurants with the food that Vasco Coelho Santos has, it gets even better. The wood fire oven takes me to heaven. And that outdoor patio looking out to Douro River has no match.
Red wine | Tignanello 2019
This wine has so much history and such a significant family weight, with layers and layers of different Vinattieri that have kept guard to the vineyards and the winemaking art as something non-negotiable that when the bottle is opening, we are already in love. But then we taste it, and there is more to it. It is a return to the essential, a bell to what an elegant red wine should be. Glasses after glasses of red wine go through our hands in a year, but elegance always wins. A work of art from the Antinori family, an emotional wine. Unexpectedly drunk at a snow holiday in Kitzbühel, Austria, to make it even more unforgettable.
The Whites | The praise to ageing
I couldn’t close the year without going back to the white wines. Aged white wines in particular. Little by little, I am convincing friends about the wonders of opening aged white wines. Then I get feedback from delighted, surprised and in love people with these wines. Meanwhile, they may start telling me they drink more whites than reds. It usually goes like this: I opened an Arinto from the 90s or a 00s Alvarinho. The message is passing, and I am thrilled with it, mainly because now there is an entirely new group of options to explore and discover. Let the aged white wines come!
Hello winemaker of the year prize | And Goodbye
And to end this post, 2024 will bring a new Winemaker of the year, which is the same as saying I am taking the prize out of the car, and I will stop sharing it with the team where I make wine. Or I’ll leave it there forever because a guy never knows when these things will happen again. Now, seriously, Grandes Escolhas called me up to the stage in March, and up I went with shyness to try and say something that made justice to everyone who has helped and inspired me in this journey. Next year, I won’t be winemaker of the year, but the people and the projects are there, making this life a constant privilege. The words I will take with me into next year are: Thank you!
And Happy New Year
