Clarete Proíbido Douro DOC

The Clarete 2020 is a very dark but transparent rosé that comes across more like a light, light red wine. It is made from around 60% red and 40% white grapes that come from near Foz Côa and are of course all autochthonous. More information about the exact composition can be found below.

The grapes grow on the left bank of the Douro, where they are sheltered from the heat, allowing for slow and even ripening. The vines were planted chaotically and without a system in the same vineyard over 70 years ago, creating what is known as a "field blend".

The wine is light and refreshing, with a subtle fruitiness without being sweet and a slightly tart note. It is definitely vinous and therefore the perfect choice for red wine fans who want to drink something fresher on hot summer days.
An uncomplicated accompaniment for picnics with baguettes, cheese and salami, but also with grilled food, with which you can easily cover an entire dinner.

As a winemaker, Márcio Lopes really only intervenes as much as is absolutely necessary and trusts as much as he can in the natural processes of winemaking. For example, he lets his wines ferment exclusively with natural yeasts and - like many of the producers we work with - he firmly believes that if the grapes are of the right quality, he can produce excellent and harmonious quality wines that have the character reflect their terroir. And he seems to be doing quite well with it: Márcio Lopes' wines are unmistakably fresh and lively and are characterized without exception by bright and clear typical varietal aromas.

• Vintage: 2020
• Grape varieties: Various old autochthonous grape varieties: Tinta Amarela, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, Rufete, Baga, João de Santarém, Rabigato, Códega do Larinho, Códega, Gouveio, Donzelinho Branco, Folgazão, Arinto.
• Alcohol content: 12.5% ​​vol.
• Total acidity: 6.2 g/L
• Production area: Douro Superior
• Residual sugar: 2.0 g/L
• pH: 3.70
• free SO2: 30 mg/L
• Terroir: granite and slate
• Contains sulphites
• Vinification: After manual harvesting and transport to the winery in small crates (18-20 kg), the grapes were foot-pressed in granite lagares and slowly fermented for 10 days.
• Aging: 6 months in barriques (80% old, 20% new).
• Bottling: January 2021

Marcio Lopes: The Rising Star in Vinho Verde and Douro

Márcio Lopes was born in Porto in 1983 and spent many summer holidays with his grandparents in the hinterland of Porto where they grew corn and wheat and also produced wine. At the age of 6, his grandmother put him in a lagar (traditional Portuguese granite basin used for winemaking) to stomp the grapes inside, as is still traditionally done today. This was the first of many many wines that young Márcio has since produced. The rest is history...

A year before graduating in Agricultural Engineering in 2006, Márcio started working with the famous winemaker Anselmo Mendes in Melgaço. In 2008 he went to Australia, where he was responsible for two classes in Rutherglen and Tasmania. In 2010 he started his own project “Pequenos Rebentos” (Portuguese for “little offspring”) in the Minho region, home of the Vinhos Verdes.

Manufacturer: Marcio Lopes, Unipessoal, Lda. Rua da Barranha 797, 4460-256 SENHORA DA HORA, Portugal