Ontem Tinto, Conceito Vinhos

ONTEM! A wine not to be forgotten! A natural wine from Conceito.

Ontem (“Yesterday” in Portuguese) is the new project by Rita Marques Ferreira, from Conceito Vinhos in the Upper Douro Valley. The name says it all, because this wine - a natural wine - is the living memory of an almost forgotten past.

Taste the taste of yesterday today: The Ontem Tinto 2016 is a soft wine with lots of volume and a nice tension, while not being as edgy and heavy as many other red Douro wines. Not a trace of the otherwise widespread vanilla-wood note. Instead, full aromas of black and red berries, some pepper and slightly animal notes.

Beautiful garnet color with many violet tones to reveal its youth. The nose smells of wild berries, typical of 2016 in this part of the country, but restrained and subtle. Dry garrigue and spices add to the complexity as do the discrete tonal notes. The lightness and brightness of the mouth shines with lively acidity, a flexible and muscular body, lots of depth, structure and texture that tell us of its origins in very old vines. Great balance in a wine, generous and reserved, offers pleasure and opulence, but also restraint and elegance. Very long and fresh finish.

It is a natural wine and you can tell just by drinking how pure it really is. You don't notice the 13.5% and you could drink a bottle without any problems. But it is even more fun as an accompaniment to a nice banquet.

Ideal with roast goose or all dishes with autumnal notes, such as mushroom dishes.

Ontem Tinto 2016 is made from a blend of native grape varieties grown in a rare combination on very old vines in a vineyard with slate soils on the Douro-Dão border. In terms of taste, the Ontem Tinto 2016 also bridges the gap between the two regions: a wine was created from typical Douro grape varieties such as Rufete, Baga, João de Santarém, Touriga Franca, Bastardo and Tinta Roriz, which combines the typical elegance of a classic Dão wine in carries itself.

The vineyard had been abandoned for some time and was almost forgotten until Rita and her allies set out to revive it. The challenge now was to give this special and rare terroir a second chance. With the help of the support of the local population - mainly old people - involved in the whole vinification process, it has been possible to conjure up a wine of excellent quality, characterized by a very limited quantity: only 3,000 bottles were produced . We got 120!

Rita also received further support for this ambitious project from Manuel Sapage, an oenologist from the Douro, and from Luís Antunes, her husband - professor at the University of Lisbon, writer and wine journalist.

• Vintage: 2016
• Grape varieties: Rufete, Baga, João de Santarém, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz.
• Alcohol content: 13.5% vol.
• Acid: 7.15 g/l
• pH: 2.98
• Residual sweetness: <0.6 g/l
• Vinification: Manual harvest, hand crushing of the grapes in stainless steel lagares, no destemming, no additional yeast.
• Aging: 20 months in used French barriques.
• Contains sulphites
• Data sheet EN pdf

Rita Marques Ferreira is one of the currently most highly traded winemakers of the new generation from the Douro Valley. Their wines regularly receive very high ratings from international wine critics.
Rita's family has been growing wine in the upper Douro for several generations. Their vineyards cover a total of around 85 hectares at an average altitude of 500m above sea level.
The vineyards are cared for without the use of chemicals and in a very natural way. Everything is still done manually. Rita, who incidentally learned her trade in Bordeaux and then worked as a "Flying Winemaker" in New Zealand and South Africa, sells parts of her harvest to other wineries. She only keeps the best for her own wines and uses them to produce fine and elegant wines with lots of freshness and minerality. Everything is well thought out because Rita has a concept. Hence the name: Conceito.

Manufacturer: Conceito Vinhos, LDA. – Lg. Madalena, 10 – 5155-022 Cedovim – VN Foz Côa, Douro, Portugal