Red Wine

Proibido

Old Vines do Pombal 2017, 75cl

Douro

Proibido

The red wine Proibido Vinha do Pombal is only produced in exceptional years. The 2017 harvest was the first limited and numbered edition, with 868 bottles. A wine that will evolve very well for about 25 or 30 years.

A highly balanced year results in a wine that comes from our oldest vineyard, with a blend of grape varieties, from Quinta do Pombal in Foz Côa.

Recognized for its arid land and almost no precipitation, vineyards from the Douro Superior, especially near the Douro River, are harsh but nevertheless productive.

Planted in 1957, the Vinha Velha do Pombal located at about 500m altitude in Vila Nova de Foz Côa boasts around 35 mixed grape varieties, including Alvarelhão, Bastardo, Tinta da Barca, Mourisco… Facing north and east, this vineyard has a planting density close to 8,000 vines/ha and an approximate yield of 200g/vine.

With a soil rich in schist but with fragments of quartz, I believe I have found the right freshness for the elaboration of this wine. Almost all the work is done by hand and with the help of a workhorse, without the use of herbicides or pesticides.

After manual harvesting, the whole bunches were crushed and the grapes underwent post-maceration for about 1 and a half months. Aging for 15 months in used barrels.

Awards:

94/100 – Robert Parker – Wine Advocate
Best of Portugal 2022 – Revista de Vinhos (wine magazine)
18.5/20 – Revista Paixão pelo Vinho (wine magazine)
18.5/100 – Revista de Vinhos (wine magazine)

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.