Purista - TM 2023
Purista - TM 2023
Low stock: 3 left
Red Wine
Earthy, Herbal, Stony.
Tinta Miúda is not a grape you hear too much about. There is a bit growing in the Alenquer subregion of Lisbon, where this wine is produced. Where it is slightly better known, however, is in the Rioja region where it goes by the name Graciano.
It is sometimes seen as a stand alone grape but for the most part it joins Tempranillo and other locals to bolster the regions blends, especially those from old vines, which were planted before Tempranillo really conquered the scene.
Tinta Miúda is a late ripening, dark red, tannic grape that can make a pretty powerful drop. A special touch has been applied here, however, but first a little about the producer.
Purista is a pretty cool project. Founded by Ana Cardoso Pinto, who comes from the well known Quinta do Pinto, this is her own project shedding a new and interesting light on the Lisbon region and what it can produce.
Since 2021 she's been doing some cool things based out in Alenquer. This is the hottest and driest part of the Lisbon region. It sits neatly behind a mountain range, the Serra de Montejunto, which casts a rain shadow over the area.
Blocked off from the intense coastal winds and with a lack of significant rain, the hot dry sun puts a bit of punch into the wines and the clay-limestone soils help to beef them up a fair amount too.
With Purista, Ana’s mission is to find originality and unique expression in her wines. The big idea is to showcase each variety in its most pure form, without the big oak or heavy macerations and whatever, just the pure stuff. Hence the name Purista.
To keep to this ideal, Ana works holistically between the vineyard and winery. In the vineyards, Ana works organically with the help of sheep to control the weeds. In the winery she uses cement tanks and wild yeasts to keep things true to form.
In the case of this wine, to soften the blow Ana used a combination of chestnut barrels and cement tanks to age the wine.
In fact, this wine is actually made up of grapes from two different years. 10% is from 2021 and this was aged in the chestnut barrels for 12 months while the rest was shaped up over 9 months in the cement.
Smooth sippin'!
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WHY WE LOVE THIS WINE!
This wine certainly fits into the wild and wacky category. Something about it inspires thoughts of ancient flavours, the profile seeming far too rustic to be from one of the popular, polished wine grapes we see everywhere today. It's earthy and liquorishy like an old Pinot with fascinating notes of red fruit leather. If you are looking for something of a wild card this is the one!