Red 2021 – Vale de Mata

Red Vale de Mata was made following a philosophy of minimal intervention. The field blend grapes were carefully sorted and then co-fermented using only indigenous yeasts. The Red Vale de Mata blend was then aged in French oak barrels for 10 months, imparting subtle complexity, followed by a further six months in bottle.

Vale da Mata is the name of a small, old vineyard located in the foothills of Serra de Aire, in Cortes. The vineyard has a maritime climate and is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. The parcel is just a few hectares and is situated on a steep terrain with rocky
soil. The land is extremely hard to work and is cultivated manually, with winter pruning and green harvesting taking place by hand. Protected to the north, it has good sunlight exposure throughout the day and is surrounded by olive trees, fig trees, walnuts and shrubs. Vale de Mata is associated with several sustainable programmes; they are a member of the FSC and grow all their grapes according to organic philosophies. The vines are trained according to the Cordon Royat method and the grapes are manually harvested at optimum maturity.