Quinta Do Mantalto

The Anfora de Baco wines are the winery’s second project that is truly paying homage to historical wines of the region, and is recreating the way
clay anfora was used 2,000 years ago during ancient Roman times. Many wineries throughout Portugal use epoxy paint to seal the porous clay, but
Quinta do Montalto wanted to prove to its neighbors that like their ancestors, using authentic and high-quality pine-resin could not only be used,
but also could give the most natural and best results. The Branco is comprised of the estate’s oldest vines of Fernão Pires, and after de-stemming
and a gentle press, the grape must and about 20% of the skins went into 5 350 to 450 liter anfora for natural fermentation. Once fermentation
was complete, the skins naturally settled to the bottom of the vessels, and olive oil was poured over the top of the wine to create a natural seal
from the oxygen above. After a short rest, in early January the wine was blended together into stainless steel for further settling, saw a small SO2
addition, and was bottled a couple of weeks later. The wine is gorgeous. Delicate in the mouth while simultaneously having full structure and a bold
breath of fresh stone fruits, this white balances acidity and sapidity that would make the ancients proud.