Honrado: an exciting Alentejo project combining enotourism, traditional gastronomy and talha wine
Website: https://www.honrado.pt/
The south of the Alentejo wine region in Portugal is currently home to an exciting revival of traditional winemaking: wines made in clay. In the past, many people had a large clay amphora, known here as a talha, and made wine in it in a very natural way, harvesting the grapes in September, putting them in the talha, and then taking the finished wine from a tap at the bottom from early-November onwards.
Twenty years ago António Honrado transformed a traditional wine cellar into a restaurant (Restaurant O País das Uvas, Vila de Frade, Alentejo), and the distinctive feature of this space is that it has one walled lined by talhas. These are tapped on the feast of Saint Martin (which is in early November), and then the wine served in the restaurant comes directly from the talhas. The food is traditional Alentejo cuisine. There’s one problem: normal season for talha wine is November to January, as the wine needs to be drunk fairly soon, and besides this, it runs out.
So in 2016, along with his son Ruben, António decided to expand the production, and bottle the wines. This would let them supply their guests with talha wine throughout the year. They created a new company and in 2017 bought a cellar, the Cella Vinaria Antiqua, which had previously been owned by a bank. They joined three different cellars together (the arches had been closed), creating a beautiful space. Now it’s kitted out with talhas. On renovating the area they found it had the typical floor of an old wine cellar, which led them to think that in the past this space had been used for wine production. They also found a well, which is another sign of this vinous previous use.
In terms of age, they don’t have any paperwork mentioning the building beyond the 1800s, but archaeologists say that it’s likely 14th century. Total volume of production here is 20 000 litres.
A short film of Honrado:
THE WINES
Honrado Vinum Novum Talha Branco 2022 Alentejo, Portugal
Bottled a week before tasting. Has some colour, and it’s supple and bright with citrus, some honey, ripe pear and a fine, spicy structure. 91/100
Honrado Vinum Novum Palhete 2022 Alentejo, Portugal
95% white grapes, 5% red grapes. Stony and mineral with a hint of cherry and strawberry fruit, showing nice weight and structure. Has a lovely juicy quality with fine structure. 91/100
Honrado Vinum Novum Tinto 2022 Alentejo, Portugal
Mineral and textured with bright, vivid red berry fruits and some cherry notes. Nice chalky undercurrents and has some structure, with lovely finesse and youthful vigour, but no harshness. 92/100
Honrado Talha Branco 2021 Alentejo, Portugal
Antão Vaz, Perrum, Arinto and Diogalves are the grapes here. Savoury, bracing and grainy, with lots of mineral character. Has a stony edge to the apple and pear, with hints of honey and lovely spicy notes. Textured in the mouth with melon, pear and suble oxidative hints, as well as a touch of mint. Very fine. 93/100
Honrado TalhaBranco Premium 2021 Alentejo, Portugal
Each year they choose the best talha and bottle it separately. Powerful, spicy and rich with pear and peach fruit, as well as a touch of citrus. Salty and mineral around the edges with notes of honey and aniseed. Really textured and delicious. 94/100
Honrado Talha Tinto 2021 Alentejo, Portugal
Alfrocheiro, Aragones, Trincadeira and Alicante Bouschet are the grapes. Fresh and supple with appealing cherry and plum fruit. Mellow and refined with nice grainy structure and a touch of sour cherry, showing nice brightness. Lovely fruit here. 94/100
