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About the Wine
Astonishing long-maceration wine, given a full year on skins in a single amphora. Blending local varietals Fernão Pires, Arinto and Castelão with a little Sauvignon Blanc, this is a deep, complex amber wine that speaks clearly of the clay vessel in which it was made.
Richly concentrated, full of apricot stone fruit and spice, with a dense, mouth-coating palate. This is one to open and enjoy its evolution in the glass. It has that distinct quality one associates with the best examples of amphora wines - something timeless, that might have been drunk in a different era altogether. Aromatic layers, tannins filed down to a fine grain, diffused edges and a cool, elemental character.
A simple, alchemic vinification; destemmed grapes were crushed and the juice and skins filled the amphora, where the wine remained untouched for 12 months, then was bottled with no additions at any stage.
About Humus
Humus is the project of Rodrigo Filipe, started in the late 90s when he took over the family estate in Alvorninha, situated around 50 miles north of Lisbon. It’s a beautiful, remote spot that sits halfway between the Atlantic and the sprawling limestone mass of the Serra dos Candeeiros mountain range. This coastal influence creates a unique microclimate, allowing for longer, slower ripening that preserves the natural acidity of the grapes. Soils are a mixture of red clay and calcareous limestone. The resulting wines have a zip and freshness that speaks of the sea, combined with a deep concentration and structural presence.
Since 2006 Rodrigo has farmed the land organically, growing local varietals Fernão Pires, Arinto and Vital for the whites, and Castelão, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barroca for the reds. There is a little of the more international Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah too, which is used to blend.
In the cellar it’s a hands-off affair, Rodrigo believing the hard work in the vineyard is what defines the outcome of the finished wine, allowing simple vinification techniques to yield results beyond the sum of their parts. Wines more often than not ferment and age in old oak barrels and foudre, with some very special examples of amphora wines that are left untouched on the skins for as long as an entire year.
Following a period of careful experimentation, use of sulphur was reduced each vintage up to 2010 when it was done away with completely. This slowly-slowly approach has been to the benefit of the wines, at once open and expressive in the way we hope, but with an on-point composition that makes them uncannily long-lived once the cork is pulled.
Humus is the first grower we imported from Portugal, and we are excited to share the wine of this rugged and dramatic Atlantic coastline.