Red Wine

Pequenos Rebentos

Touché 2020, 75cl

Vinhos Verdes

Pequenos Rebentos

The sub-region of Monção and Melgaço, in the Alto-Minho region, is known for its favourable conditions to produce unique wines that stand out for their freshness, minerality, natural balance and longevity.
It was in 2012 when Márcio tasted what would become his best red wine ever, Romanée Conti La Tâche Grand Cru 2009. From then on he started trying to make wines with Portuguese grape varieties that would reach that profile, wines like Proibido Marufo or Proibido Clarete in the Douro, something that for him resembled such a powerful wine but at the same time full of elegance, finesse and smoothness. However he found tension lacking, he looked to granite to find the acidity he needed and from 2016 he began to make his first experiments with red branch grapes from the vinho verde region.
In 2020 he hit the nail on the head… “We found the perfect vines to make this wine”. This wine comes from branches of Melgaço with about 90 years old with a blend of varieties where Bastardo, Alvarelhão, Caínho Tinto, among others, stand out, in a limited production of 800 bottles. After manual harvest, and transport to the winery in small boxes (18kg-20kg), the bunches were destemmed and the grapes macerated for 24 hours, after which spontaneous fermentation began, they were pressed and finished fermentation in used barrels. Malolactic fermentation also took place in barrels with total lees. Ageing in barriques for 8 months and in bottle for 12 months.

Awards

18/20 Revista Grandes Escolhas

Allergens information

Contains sulphites.

Márcio Lopes

Márcio Lopes is one of the faces of a new generation of experimentalist and revivalist winemakers who have been bringing us exceptional wines, capable of awakening our senses to what is ours, what is truly Portuguese wine. There are 80,000 bottles that today complete his production, exported to more than 14 countries.

“Experiment. Create. Accomplish. It’s my life motto. I want to make special wines that bring out the best nature has to offer.”

Márcio Lopes was born in Porto in 1983 and from a young age had contact with rural life and agriculture through his grandparents. He graduated in Agricultural Engineering in 2006 from the University of Porto. Still during his academic period, he started working with the winemaker Anselmo Mendes in Melgaço, where he made his first harvest with the Alvarinho grape variety. From northern Portugal, he headed to Australia in 2008, where he did two harvests – Rutherglen and Tasmania.

In 2010, he founded the project “Márcio Lopes Winemaker” with his first two brands: PEQUENOS REBENTOS in the Vinho Verde Region and PROIBIDO in the Upper Douro Region.
In 2015, he acquired Quinta do Pombal in Vila Nova de Foz Côa.

He was elected “Winemaker Revelation of the Year 2019” by “Revista de Vinhos – A Essência dos Vinhos” in 2020. In the same year, he received the “2019 Uniqueness Award” from the magazine “Vinho – Grandes Escolhas” and a Mention in the “Top 100 Wine Discoveries 2020, Robert Parker”.

In 2020, he received the “Tradition and Identity” award from the magazine “Paixão Pelo Vinho”.

“We have a well-defined path to follow, surely with obstacles. But always step by step, with a focus on excellence, above all, what we most desire is to make people happy.