Region: Dão - Sub-region of Lands of Senhorim - Carregal do Sal (Oliveira do Conde).
Vineyard: Ruína Vineyard of 0.27ha, “grand cru” according to the Parra classification, 35-year-old plants.
Grape Varieties: 100% Cerceal-Branco
Climate/Geography: The climate of Dão is moderate continental, clearly marked by the mountain ranges that surround it and protect it from the Atlantic influence. Average annual temperature: 14°C-16°C, average summer temperature: 18°C-20°C, maximum daily temperature range in summer: 20°C. The Açor Domain enjoys the freshness and continentality of the Dão, but at the same time its mesoclimate is drier and less marginal than in the Serra da Estrela. The grapes ripen slowly and with an immense balance between sugars and acids, and a very high load of aromatic precursors.
Soil: Granitic. Very well composed between soil and stone, more precisely between the silt typical of granite soils, with the alterites or rocks degraded by the chemical and physical processes of weathering, in addition to the quartz and the granite bedrock. Alterites (rocks that have been severely degraded by chemical and physical weathering processes) between levels 3 and 5 predominate throughout the Domínio do Açor vineyard.
Viticulture: Organic in the process of certification, pruning and management consultancy by Marco Simonit.
Vinification: Total destemming and crushing in a pneumatic press, followed by natural decantation and spontaneous fermentation in barrels, at a temperature between 20-22ºC. Complete malolactic. Aged in barrels on fine lees for 11 months, in a reducing environment. Clean passage and ageing in stainless steel for 6 months until bottling. Low addition of sulphites before bottling (40mg/l of total sulphur dioxide). Natural decantation, the wine has not been clarified or filtered, and may contain deposits.
Ageing: 11 months in used 500 L French oak barrels. Subsequently 6 months in stainless steel.
Tasting Notes: Medium intensity lemon. It emphatically reveals the minerality of wet granite and the citrus and orange zest side of the variety on the nose. In the mouth, the acid-savory structure is more tubular, and carries the citrus and fresh herbal aroma for the aftertaste with very good persistence.
Pairing: Freshly caught fish, codfish cakes, Bulhão Pato-style seafood, codfish à lagareiro, moqueca capixaba, raw Japanese cuisine.
Serving Temperature: 10-12°C
Estimated Storage Life: 10 years
Terroir Consultant: Pedro Parra
Oenology and Viticulture: Luís Lopes and João Costa
