Hugo Mendes - Lisboa Tinto 2022

Red wine

Bright, Juicy, Smashable.

Hugo Mendes is a master experimenter and better yet, he's one that rolls with the punches, innovating around obstacles with the results often being more interesting than originally intended. He has done a lot of work to find an authentic expression of the underrated Lisbon white variety Vital and now he turns his attentions to the grape Touriga Franca in order to make this wine.

The vineyards where he grows the grapes are located on the banks of the hills that surround the valley where Alenquer is located. The hills block the region from the powerful winds of the Atlantic Ocean while the small mountain range known as the Serra de Montejunto, which sits away to the north west, casts a rain shadow over the area. These conditions make Alenquer the warmest subregion in the Lisbon region which provides weight and punch to the wines. The clay-limestone soils go that step further adding more beef and intensity to each drop.

So the grapes for this wine would have come into the winery swinging but Hugo had other ideas. He wanted to show more of the softer, more gentle nuances in the fruit while also making a wine that was easy and approachable.

To do this he crushed and destemmed the grapes and fermented in steel with native yeasts and without temperature control. The maceration was kept gentle, without too many punchdowns and the wine was pressed off the skins early to avoid too much extraction, the wine completing its ferment thereafter.

The wine was then pumped into used oak barrels and aged for 12 months before it was ready for bottling.

Fresh, juicy and bursting with energy.