Natura VV Amphora 2019: Vitor Matos e Márcio Lopes

Natura VV Amphora 2019: Vitor Matos and Márcio Lopes

Natura By Vítor Matos Amphora 2019 is the result of a collaboration between chef Vítor Matos and winemaker Márcio Lopes, one of the most innovative names in the Douro region. Only 360 bottles were produced.

Vintage 2019

In 2019, the hillside vineyards, planted in poor schist soils with quartz fragments and almost no rainfall, produced very little, but grapes of great concentration. These are hard-working vineyards, but tremendously balanced, which can be felt in the depth and freshness of this Amphora.

Vinification

The old vineyard, with around 35 mixed grape varieties (notably Tinta da Barca ~50%, Alvarelhão, Bastardo, Mourisco, among others), is worked naturally, without herbicides or pesticides. The harvest is manual, with each grape selected individually, followed by gentle foot treading in small boxes. The must ferments in clay amphorae, where the wine ages for 14 months. It then undergoes only slight filtration, is bottled and rests for another 12 months in the bottle before being released onto the market.

Tasting notes

The nose shows well-defined red and black fruit, fresh and young, with subtle vegetal notes and delicate spices. On the palate, it is very balanced: long and persistent body, round and silky tannins and a sensation of purity reminiscent of the old talha wines. A Douro with character, both modern and ancestral, a true tribute to the Upper Douro, its people and the flavours that time had almost forgotten.