When people think of Monção and Melgaço, they almost always think of alvarinho. Yet this cool, Atlantic corner of northern Portugal is also home to a number of fascinating indigenous red varieties. One of the most distinctive is alvarelhão – a historic grape that was traditionally used for light, fresh red wines. In recent years, however, a growing number of producers have discovered its remarkable potential for elegant rosés, where its naturally vibrant acidity and delicate red-fruit character come beautifully into focus.
This wine is made by Quinta de Santiago, a family-owned estate with deep roots in Monção. The family farms its vineyards sustainably, with great respect for the local terroir, aiming to produce wines that express purity rather than power. This alvarelhão rosé 2024 is made entirely from alvarelhão, with gentle pressing and careful temperature-controlled fermentation to preserve the grape’s freshness, aromatic purity and vibrant Atlantic character.
Alvarelhão 2024(Quinta de Santiago)
Brilliant pale salmon with delicate copper highlights. The nose is refined and expressive, offering wild strawberries, raspberries, pink grapefruit, rose petals and a subtle hint of fresh herbs. The palate is dry, crisp and beautifully balanced, combining juicy red berry fruit with citrus freshness and a fine mineral backbone. The finish is long, clean and mouth-watering, making this an irresistible summer rosé and a superb partner for seafood, grilled fish and Mediterranean cuisine.
Alentejo may be best known for its powerful reds, but its native white grape antão vaz can be every bit as expressive. Traditionally, antão vaz is known for producing full-bodied wines with generous texture, moderate acidity and aromas that range from citrus and stone fruit to tropical fruits, often with a distinctive herbal and mineral edge. In the warm climate of southern Alentejo, the variety develops richness without losing its characteristic freshness when grown in the right sites.
Antão Vaz da Malhadinha 2023 comes from the rolling schist soils of Albernoa in southern Alentejo. It is produced by Herdade da Malhadinha Nova, one of the region’s pioneering family estates, renowned for combining modern precision with a deep respect for the surrounding landscape and biodiversity.
This single-varietal wine originates from the Peceguina vineyard and is made from hand-harvested grapes picked during the cool early hours of the morning. After careful sorting, the grapes are destemmed, gently pressed and fermented at low temperatures in stainless steel tanks, preserving the purity and character of the fruit. The result is a wine that captures both the generosity of the grape and the freshness of the site.
Antão Vaz da Malhadinha 2023 (Herdade da Malhadinha Nova)
Pale straw yellow in appearance with bright clarity. The nose offers aromas of ripe peach, pear, melon and citrus, accompanied by subtle floral and mineral notes. On the palate it is fresh yet generously textured, with ripe fruit, balanced acidity and a broad, mouth-filling structure. The finish is long, harmonious and persistent, showing both varietal character and elegance.
The Mediterranean coast of Provence has become synonymous with rosé, but not all Provençal rosés are created equal. Château La Suffrène is situated in the Bandol appellation, one of the region’s most distinctive wine areas. Sheltered by hills and cooled by sea breezes from the Mediterranean, Bandol is best known for mourvèdre, a grape that brings structure, character and longevity even to rosé wines.
The estate has been in the same family for generations and today farms around 50 hectares of vineyards surrounding the château. The vineyards are cultivated with respect for the local environment, and the focus is firmly on expressing the character of Bandol’s limestone-rich soils and sunny maritime climate.
Domaine La Suffrène Rosé 2024 is made primarily from mourvèdre, supported by grenache and cinsault. The grapes are harvested at night or during the cool hours of the morning to preserve freshness. After gentle pressing, fermentation takes place at controlled temperatures in stainless steel tanks. The wine is then matured on its fine lees for a short period to enhance texture while retaining its bright fruit profile.
Domaine La Suffrène 2024 (Ch. La Suffrène)
In the glass, the wine displays a pale salmon-pink colour with delicate copper highlights. The nose offers aromas of wild strawberry, white peach, pink grapefruit and Mediterranean herbs, accompanied by a subtle saline note. On the palate, it is dry, fresh and beautifully balanced, combining ripe red berry fruit with citrus-driven acidity and a gentle mineral undertone. The finish is long, clean and refreshing, leaving a lingering impression of sea breeze and Provençal sunshine.
Priorat is often associated with powerful reds grown on the region’s dramatic llicorella slate soils, but white wines have long been part of its history. Terroir Històric Blanc 2023 is an attempt to capture the essence of the entire appellation through fruit sourced from old family vineyards spread across several villages in Priorat. The rugged landscape, steep slopes and poor slate soils give the wines their distinctive mineral character.
The wine is made by Terroir al Límit, the project founded by Dominik Huber in Torroja del Priorat. Since its inception, the estate has championed a less extracted and more transparent expression of Priorat, focusing on site rather than power. The Històric range was created to showcase the wider region and to support traditional vineyards and local growers.
The 2023 vintage is a blend of approximately 75% garnacha blanca and 25% macabeo. Fermentation is carried out with indigenous yeasts, largely using whole clusters, followed by maturation in concrete and stainless steel vessels without new oak. The aim is freshness, texture and a clear sense of place rather than winemaking artefacts.
Terroir Històric Blanc 2023(Terroir al Límit)
In the glass, the wine shows a pale straw colour with bright reflections. The nose offers citrus peel, white peach, apricot, Mediterranean herbs and a subtle saline note. On the palate it is textured yet energetic, combining ripe orchard fruit with vibrant acidity and a distinctly mineral backbone. The finish is long, savoury and lightly salty, leaving an impression of both freshness and depth.
This wine was offered by Tempo wine bar, Sandnes, on our national day. It comes from the valleys of Kakheti, where winemaking traditions stretch back some 8.000 years.
Pheasant’s Tears, founded by John Wurdeman and Gela Patalishvili in the hilltop town of Sighnaghi, has become one of the key ambassadors for natural and traditional Georgian qvevri wines.
Made from the indigenous kakhuri mtsvivani grape, the wine is farmed organically and fermented spontaneously before ageing in buried qvevri — the large clay vessels that define Georgia’s ancient approach to wine. The wine is unfiltered and minimally sulphured.
Kakhuri Mtsvivani 2022 (Pheasant’s Tears)
In the glass, the wine shows a light amber hue with a gentle golden shimmer. The nose opens with wild flowers, bruised apples, citrus peel and dried herbs, followed by a faint earthy savouriness from the qvevri ageing. On the palate it is textured yet vibrant, balancing orchard fruit and subtle tannins with a fresh acidity and a long, slightly salty finish. A really distinctive wine.
This wine comes from the granite highlands of Portugal’s Dão region. The vineyards lie mainly around Serra da Estrela, where ancient mixed plantings survive on poor granitic soils at elevations reaching 700 metres. Warm days and cool nights preserve acidity, giving the wines their characteristic tension and mineral clarity.
Although raised in Paris, António Madeira returned to his family’s Portuguese roots with a vision of restoring abandoned old vineyards and reviving the traditional identity of the Dão. He has since become one of the region’s most respected growers, working organically and focusing on indigenous grape varieties and historic field blends.
A Liberdade Branco 2021 is sourced from old vineyards planted mainly with native grapes such as encruzado, bical, fernão pires and cerceal. The grapes are harvested by hand and fermented with indigenous yeasts. Vinification is deliberately gentle, with ageing carried out partly in older oak barrels and partly in stainless steel in order to preserve both texture and freshness. The wine is bottled with minimal intervention and restrained use of sulphur.
A Liberdade 2021(A. Madeira)
In the glass, a pale golden colour with light green reflections. The nose combines citrus peel, white peach, fennel, wild herbs and wet granite, along with evident lees ageing. Full on the palate, taut and energetic, balancing subtle texture with vibrant acidity and a distinctly saline mineral finish. A great wine.
From the steep volcanic slopes of northern Tenerife, La Santa de Úrsula 2022 by Envínate captures the wild Atlantic character of the Canary Islands. The wine comes from Tacoronte-Acentejo, one of Tenerife’s oldest appellations, where centenarian pie franco vines cling to sandy clay soils over red basalt, cooled by ocean winds and shaped by dramatic elevations.
Envínate — founded by four friends after studying oenology in Alicante — has become one of the defining voices of contemporary Spanish wine. Their philosophy is simple: let each parcel speak clearly through old vineyards, organic farming and minimal intervention. La Santa de Úrsula is made mainly from listán negro and negramoll, with a tiny touch of listán blanco. Each parcel is fermented separately using varying proportions of whole bunches, destemmed fruit and semi-carbonic maceration, all with indigenous yeasts. Ageing takes place for around eight months in old French barrels, and the wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulphur.
La Santa de Úrsula 2022(Envínate)
In the glass, a translucent ruby colour with violet reflections. The nose offers wild strawberry, sour cherry, rose petals, dried herbs and volcanic smoke. On the palate, it is fresh, savoury and finely textured, with juicy red fruit, silky tannins, vibrant acidity and a salty mineral edge that lingers beautifully on the finish. A wine of energy, perfume and Atlantic tension.
This wine was served blind as a bonus wine in a Bordeaux tasting.
It comes from the limestone and clay-limestone slopes of the eastern Loire. Sancerre’s cool climate and mineral soils give pinot a brightness and tension that feel distinctly Loire.
Produced by the historic family estate Domaine Paul Prieur et Fils, now run by Luc Prieur, this wine comes from the lower part of the lieu-dit Les Pichons, planted on clay-limestone soils. The Prieur family has been making wine in Sancerre for eleven generations and remains one of the classic names of Verdigny.
The wine is made with around 20–40% whole clusters, fermented with indigenous yeasts and without sulphur before fermentation. The wine is aged for 15 months, mostly in older 228-litre barrels with a portion matured in amphora, and bottled unfiltered. The result is a pinot noir with both purity and texture rather than overt oak influence.
Grains de Pinot 2023(Dom. Paul Prieur)
Pale ruby colour. Aroma of red cherry, raspberry and cranberry, alongside floral notes, gentle spice and a faint earthy smokiness. On the palate, it is light to medium-bodied, fresh and finely structured, with silky tannins, lively acidity and a mineral edge carrying the finish. Elegant, savoury and quite persistent.
The maker of this wine is José María Vicente, a central figure in the evolution of Jumilla. Trained in Bordeaux, yet firmly anchored in his own vineyards, he has over the years steered Casa Castillo towards a clearer articulation of site.
La Tendida is a paraje wine, sourced from a defined parcel within the estate. At altitude, on limestone soils, monastrell takes on a different register: less breadth, more definition, with a finer tannic grain.
Vinification follows the same logic. Fermentation is gentle, with some whole clusters, and ageing takes place in large, neutral vessels. Oak is not a flavouring agent here, but a framework.
The bottle was bought at the gourmet shop Sabor y Tradición and enjoyed at the terrace in Murcia.
La Tendida 2023(Casa Castillo)
Bright ruby colour. The nose leans towards red fruit – redcurrant, wild strawberry – with dried herbs and a light floral note. The palate is focused and finely structured. Tannins are chalky and well integrated, acidity brings lift, and the finish is long, marked by a subtle mineral edge.
More highlights from my tastings at Simplesmente Vinho.
From Castilla y León, Malaparte (Elisa de Frutos and Rubén Salamanca) presented their distinctive OX Blanc 2023. This blend is fermented with indigenous yeasts and then aged outdoors in large glass demijohns, where a layer of flor develops. Deep golden in colour, it offers aromas of dried flowers, preserved citrus and nuts. On the palate it is rich and structured, with a lightly oxidative character reminiscent of biologically aged wines, yet balanced by a core of freshness and a long, savoury finish.
The step from that wine to the next seemed short. Barco del Corneta was represented by Félix Crespo, who presented their line of fabulous, textural verdejos (and some reds). Among them was Las Envidias 2022, a wine made from palomino and aged in botas de Jerez. Pale in colour with a light yellow tint, the wine showed aromas of mature apple and citrus peel, with a subtle yeasty note from the ageing. On the palate it was dry and savoury, with good freshness and a lightly oxidative tone. The finish carried a delicate saline touch that added character and length.
J. Palacios of Corullón in Bierzo was also present. Ricardo Pérez Palacios had brought his stunning parcel wines, all the way up to the legendary La Faraona. “I wanted to make a good impression,” Ricardo smiled – which he certainly did. Here I chose Moncerbal 2023. Cherry red in colour, it opens with a perfumed nose of flowers, wild herbs and both red and darker berries. On the palate the wine shows impressive precision, with fresh fruit and a firm but finely grained tannin structure. It is surprisingly approachable already, though a hint of oak appears in the aftertaste, suggesting that the wine will continue to develop gracefully for many years.
From Arribes, El Hato y el Garabato, represented here by Liliana Fernández, showed their range. I did not taste all the wines, but Otro Cuento 2022, predominantly doña blanca fermented and aged in foudre, was fabulous. Pale in colour, the wine offers aromas of apple and citrus with a faint herbal touch. On the palate it is light and fresh, with a rounded texture, lively acidity and a subtle hint of oak that adds depth without dominating.
Alfredo Maestro is a classic presence at Simplesmente, with his vibrant natural wines from across Castilla y León. Here I chose a personal favourite, El Marciano 2023, a garnacha from Sierra de Gredos. Bright red in colour, the wine shows aromas of fresh red berries with a hint of wild herbs. On the palate it is juicy and lively, with fine tannins and refreshing acidity that give the wine both energy and drinkability.
Daniel Ramos is likewise always a delight to meet – and to taste his aged natural wines from Gredos. This time I chose a younger wine, Zerberos CariNena 2023, made from cariñena as the name suggests. The colour leans toward red with a slight orange tint and the wine is a bit turbid in the glass. Aromas move between red and darker berries with a faint volatile lift that adds complexity. On the palate it is vibrant and expressive, balancing fruit, acidity and a lightly rustic edge.
This wine marked the end of my tastings. Thank you to the organisers – the Roseira family – and see you next year.
