Antonio Madeira - A Centenaria 2020

(Dão, Portugal)

Each year, Antonio selects his finest barrels for bottling as single-vineyard selections.  Due to the small size and tiny yields of all of the special plots he farms, these releases are extremely limited and utterly unique expressions of place and time.  'A Centenaria' is from a tiny 0.2ha parcel of his very oldest vines. The average age here is 110 years old with some vines reaching 130 years old. The soils are sandy Granite, and the varieties are 50% Jaen with the rest being 45 other local varieties in a filed blend. This is dense, lifted, insanely layered and complex. A truly meditative wine and up there with the best we have tried regardless of provenance. A masterclass in precision and balance and a showcase of the insane potential of old traditionally planted vineyards. 

Made by Antonio Madeira, a rising star of Portuguese wine who in 2017 moved his family from Paris back to his grandparents' village in the Dão region of Portugal.  Antonio believes this region to hold the 'Grand Cru' vineyards of Portugal, and searches tirelessly to rescue them, along with the dozens of traditional local grape varieties they hold within them.  His winemaking style is one which pays ultimate respect to the special characters of these old vineyards, revealing the beauty the vines extract from these lovingly regenerated soils.