Drink Me Nat Cool Dourado Branco 2024

This wine was born from a challenge! It all started with an internal provocation: the Nat'Cool team challenged the winemaking team at Quinta de Nápoles to create a skin-contact white wine — the so-called “orange wine.” The vineyard chosen, located in the Provesende area, gave rise to a surprising wine. After 10 days of skin maceration with whole bunches in a traditional lagar, the result wasn’t the expected orange hue, but a beautiful golden colour instead. And it was that colour that ended up giving the wine its name: DOURADO.

Grape Varieties: Blend of typical Douro grape varieties

Soil: Schiste

Tasting Notes: A luminous amber-gold in the glass, this wine opens with inviting aromas of wildflower honey, dried apricot, and a lift of orange peel. On the palate, it shows a supple texture balanced by bright, mouthwatering acidity, carrying the fruit into a long, sapid finish. A subtle salty edge lingers, giving precision and freshness, and making it effortlessly drinkable despite its depth.

Vinification: Fermentation occurred spontaneously in a traditional lagar, where the wine remained for about 11 days before being pressed into a cement tank. There, it continued both alcoholic and malolactic fermentation to completion and aged on fine lees for one year. After this ageing period, the wine was transferred to stainless steel, where it settled naturally for two months, and was then bottled with light filtration.

Ageing: 1 year in cement tank.

Food Suggestions: Mezze: hummus, baba ghanoush, roasted peppers, olives. Cheeses: aged goat cheese, Alpine styles (Comté, Gruyère) or washed-rind cheeses with intense aromas. Suitable for Vegans & Vegetarians.

Winemaker: Dirk Niepoort