If 2024 was a famine year, then 2025 was a feast. We produced well over what was thought to be our maximum yield and were forced to sell the overflow to a local cooperative to avoid overcrowding the winery. We learned from the previous years which had very high alcohol levels and picked the grapes early. Fernão Pires is quick to lose its acidity and complexity when ripened too far, and Marselan is a small highly concentrated grape which produces a very alcoholic wine when fermented.
For the white grapes, we attempted a co-ferment on skins for four days of Vital and Fernão Pires, then pressed and fermented dry under low temperatures to avoid oxidation. The result was then stabilised and left on lees for a month to build complexity.
The red grapes were harvested and de-stemmed in a co-ferment of Syrah and Marselan, which was left on skins until dry, pressed and then inoculated with Oenococcus oeni to undergo malolactic fermentation. At which point it was stabilised and racked clean.
