Community Tasting Note

forceberry wrote:

Thursday, April 6, 2023 - The VV stands for Vinhas Velhas. This is a blend of organically farmed Bical and Fernão Pires from very old vineyards (average age 80 yo, oldest vineyards +100 yo). Fermented very slowly in stainless steel tanks over 4-5 weeks, after which the wines were moved into old 1000-liter oak fuders imported from Mosel to finish the fermentation. The wines were kept in oak fuders for 20 months, during which the wines were fermented dry and underwent spontaneous MLF. Bottled unfiltered in August 2020. 11,4% alcohol, 1,5 g/l residual sugar, 7 g/l acidity, 0,57 g/l VA and total SO2 89 mg/l. Total production 6900 bottles.

Pale, neutral whitish-green color. The nose feels fragrant but also somewhat subdued with light, nuanced aromas of fresh apple and zesty citrus fruits, some hay, a little bit of creaminess suggesting oak aging, light fragrant notes of exotic spices and a nutty hint of slivered almonds. The wine feels somewhat neutral and a bit understated on the palate with a medium body and dry, minerally flavors of fresh red apple and wet rocks, some hay, a little bit of creaminess, light woody notes of old, dry oak, a hint of woolly lanolin and a touch of chalk dust. The acidity feels quite high, keeping the wine effortlessly in balance, yet it doesn't really bring that much intensity or sense of incisive structure to the wine. The finish is dry, somewhat neutral and rather mineral and a bit mellow with a medium-long aftertaste of fresh red apple, some notes of hay, a little bit of creaminess, light woolly tones, a hint of zesty citrus fruits and a touch of crunchy white currant.

A nice, pleasant and harmonious Bairrada white, but considering how high the acidity is here, the wine is surprisingly mellow, open-knit and richly-textured. All this is further emphasized by the rather understated, even somewhat neutral fruit flavors of the wine. There's nothing wrong with this wine - I just sort of expected more from it. I guess it's possible the wine was just opened too early and it will pick up some depth and complexity as it ages. At approx. 35€ this feels somewhat expensive for the quality.

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