António Madeira - 2019 - Vinhas Velhas Tinto

António Madeira is on a mission to craft phenomenal terroir-focused wines in theDão. He’s deeply dedicated to the region—his adopted homeland—and has set out to identify and classify its“grand cru” vineyards and preserve its most ancient ones. 

Madeira is a Parisian of Portuguese descent with family roots in the Serra da Estrela, mainland Portugal’s highest mountain. In 2011 he produced his first wines after discovering a 50-year-old vineyard in the foothills. He quickly realized he’d stumbled upon gold in the Dão:old vines of native varietals such asTinta Pinheira,Negro Mouro,Tinta Amarela, andBaga; free-draining granite soils; and excellent sun exposures—all combine to make magical wines. Today, he works with small plots in six different villages and farms organically and manually. All of his wines are co-fermented field blends, using indigenous yeast and very little sulfur. If there’s a throughline in his wines it’d be a touch of salinity and ample freshness, with an earthy quality like the first moments after it rains.