Resistencia Viticulturista, Antonio Portela - Namorado Clarete Das Áreas 2019

Pink wine.

Juicy, Tangy, Grainy.

Here is yet another of the wild and wonderful creations of Antonio Portela who, with his project Resistencia Viticulture, is a master of conjuring up brilliance from unexpected places. He has struck out from the beaten path, unconcerned with what the regulators and bureaucrats say and is making his wines the way he sees fit and where he sees fit.

Antonio has long been in the wine game as a writer and general enthusiast but also as the founder of the Galician wine fair 'A Emoción Dos Viños'. His adventures in winemaking started up when a vineyard near to his house and right up against a beautiful Galician beach fell into disuse. Antonio petitioned the owners to start caring for the vines himself, which they allowed. He began with this plot but soon acquired a number of other vineyards, all in very obscure coastal locations in sandy soils up and down the peninsula where he lives.

What makes all this most special and interesting is that he's one of the few if not the only one doing it in this particular spot. The peninsula is known as the Peninsula de Morrazo and it sits directly below the famed Val do Salnés of the Rías Baixas region. For some reason though, it is not included within the limits of the Rías Baixas region despite having very similar conditions to the aforementioned Val do Salnés. 

It is for this reason that Antonio is an outlier making wines from established vineyards that refuse to fit the mould.

This wine was made from a mixed variety vineyard that was planted in sandy soils hard up against the coast in the natural reserve of Dunar de Barra. The vineyard contains a number of indigenous local varieties such as Albariño, Loureiro, Torrontés, Caiño Tinto and Brancellao among others.

The red grapes were fermented and then pressed off the skins with the wine being left to rest in chestnut barrels for a year. The white grapes were pressed and fermented before being left over the lees for a year in steel. The two parts of the wine were then blended.

Delicious dirty rosé!