Geographic Wines: an exciting pan-regional terroir project from Portugal
Website: https://www.geographicwines.pt/en/homepage/
This is a really interesting new project from Portugal. It’s a pan-regional portfolio, with wines from Vinho Verde, Bairrada and the Douro. It’s a collaboration between Nuno Morais Vaz and Daniela Matias, and the wines are really good across the board, made in a low intervention way from selected vineyards in these three regions.
Sketch by Geographic Wines Pet Nat 2023 Portugal
12.5% alcohol. Lovely fruit here: marzipan and toast notes merge with ripe pear and citrus, with a hint of melon. Textural, but finishes bright with keen acidity and a note of sour cherry. Lots to like about this, with lovely fruit purity and modest fizziness. 91/100
Landcraft Moscatel Galego Blanco 2023 Douro, Portugal
13% alcohol. Taut but aromatic with sweet grapey hints and a touch of rose petal. In the mouth this is dry with nice acidity and a touch of pithy bitterness and nice grapey detail. 91/100
Landcraft Loureiro 2023 Vinho Verde, Portugal
12% alcohol. There’s a lovely depth of flavour here. Bright citrus with some pear and green apple, and some chalky detail. Finishes with crisp lime. Lovely balance and concentration. 92/100
Landcraft Sauvignon Blanc 2023 Bairrada, Portugal
12.5% alcohol. This is supple, fresh and pure with a nice acid line and some mineral notes. Muted Sauvignon character. Juicy with some lime and wet stone minerality. Fresh and layered, and slightly understated. 91/100
Geographic Wines La Volée Blanc de Blancs 2021 Bairrada, Portugal
A beautiful expression of sparkling Bairrada with a waxy, pithy edge to the lively citrus fruit. Focused and bright with a crystalline quality. Such purity with notes of almond and dried herbs with a savoury twist, and some salt and marzipan on the finish. 93/100
Geographic Wines La Volée Rosé 2021 Bairrada, Portugal
12.5% alcohol. Yellow with a hint of pink. Fruity and bright with nice dryness and notes of apple, pear, peach and keen citrus fruit. Has some marmalade and grapefruit pith, showing nice acidity and a savoury dimension. 92/100
Geographic Wines Lento Branco 2023 Douro, Portugal
12.5% alcohol. This is fresh but has some rich aromatics of lemon, pear and white peach. The palate has lovely concentration of bright yellow fruits with nice acidity and some pithy notes on the finish. Strong, vivid and expressive with a wide dynamic range. 94/100
Geographic Wines Inóspito Vinhas Velhas Branco Châo de Areia 2022 Douro, Portugal
Very fine and detailed with bright lemon and pear fruit with some wet stone character and good acidity. Fine and mineral with a slight saltiness. This really expands on day 2, suggesting it has a bright future. Fine. 95/100
Geographic Wines Lento 2022 Douro, Portugal
12% alcohol. A field blend. Taut, focused aromatics with herbs and some tar, as well as tight raspberry and cranberry notes, as well as some floral hints. The palate is bright and energetic with a sappy green edge and some tar and spice. Early picked, this is quite angular now but has the focus and the energy to develop nicely. It also opens up in the glass. Good to see this sort of restraint from the Douro. 93/100
Geographic Wines Inóspito Touriga Nacional Duas Parcelas 2022 Douro, Portugal
11.5% alcohol. This is subtle and understated and really fine. Floral cherry fruit with a hint of tar. Very Touriga Nacional in character. There’s a stony, mineral edge to the palate with herb-tinged strawberry and raspberry fruit with some green hints. Nice mid-palate richness but finishes slightly sour and tart, in a good way. On day 2, this is floral and elegant. 94/100
