Pequenos Rebentos Tinto Atlântico, Vinho Verde

A fascinating wine with its very own character: relatively light, similar to a Burgundy, with notes of sour cherries, a beautiful lightness and a lot of freshness. A real "vin de soif", as they say in France. A wine to quench your thirst, but with substance. The structure emphasizes the acidity, which rounds out the tannins, giving them a bright and lively character. The finish shows notes of plums and spicy aromas.

The ideal red wine for cheese and charcuterie... It accompanies dishes without dominating them. Enjoy it now or in 1 to 2 years .

The Minho - Vinhos Verdes region produces some of the best white wines in the world, for which it is also famous. But it is also home to some wonderfully fresh and elegant red wines that benefit from the natural minerality of the local granite soils.
For this Tinto Atlantico only the best grapes of old grape varieties (about 80 years old) that grow on pergolas were used, including such rare varieties as Cainho Tinto, Pedral and Alvarelhão.

Márcio Lopes, the winemaker, wanted to create an elegant and fresh red wine that was not just another red Vinho Verde, but a high quality red wine made in the Vinhos Verdes region.
The production is little intervening. On the one hand, this means that the wines are fermented with natural yeasts, because like many of our producers, Márcio Lopes also believes that excellent grapes do not need that much outside help to produce a perfect and well-balanced wine that reflects the terroir.
This approach seems to work: Márcio's wines are distinctively fresh and lively, displaying bright and clear typical varietal aromas. They are present and clean, with crisp acidity and balanced texture, more than pairing with most seafood and also excellent with dishes with creamy sauces.

Facts:

• Vintage: 2018
• Grape varieties: 80% Cainho Tinto, Alvarelhão and Pedral, 20% Vinhão
• Production: only 1,995 bottles
• Alcohol content: 12% vol.
• Total acidity: 6.5 g/L
• Production area: Barcelos
• Residual sugar: 1.2 g/L
• pH: 3.40
• free SO2: 30 mg/L
• Terroir: granite
• Contains sulphites
• Vinification: manual harvest in small boxes (18-20 kg). Destemming and de-stemming of the grapes, then maceration for 24 hours. As soon as the spontaneous wild yeast fermentation begins, the mash is pressed and the alcohol fermentation in old barrels is finished.
• The lactic acid degradation was also terminated with the yeast.
• Aging: 8 months in old barrels.
• Bottling Date: June 2019 (no filtration, clarification or stabilization)

Marcio Lopes: The Rising Star in Vinho Verde.

Márcio Lopes was born in Porto in 1983 and spent many summer holidays with his grandparents in the hinterland of Porto where they produced corn, wheat and also wine. At the age of 6 his grandmother put him in a lagar (traditional granite basin) so that he could press the grapes with his feet and thus produce his first wine.
Before graduating in Agricultural Engineering in 2006, Márcio started working with Anselmo Mendes in Melgaço in 2005. In 2008 he made the "jump" to Australia, where he was responsible for two classes in Rutherglen and Tasmania. In 2010 he started his personal 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