Folias de Baco – Uivo Vinhas Velhas Reserva 2018
Background
Douro Valley. The north part of Portugal. It’s been a prestige region since vineyards were carved out of 60 degree slopes of shist, flaking from the 40*C summer sun and whipped by the cool salty Atlantic air. The area rose to prominence on the reputation of their fortified wines (which are great – obviously), but in the rebuild after the devastation of phylloxera, a good amount of production in the Douro was devoted to dry wine production. Folias de Baco is in Cima Corgo, a high elevation ran shadow at the far west of the Duoro. This area is generally seen as too cool for red wine production, but whites do well here.
Tiago Sampaio, the winemaker behind the UIVO project cut his teeth in Oregon, working with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris in what is a decidedly modern wine-making environment. He brought that youthful energy back to Douro, which as a wine region is a traditional as it comes. He oversees 4 hectares of 80 year old vines. Most of the grape varietals will be a little unfamiliar to most a lot of casual wine drinkers, but we’ll dive a little bit into some of them. It’s a little complicated but stick with us.
Tasting Notes
This wine is mostly Gouveio, Viosinho and Rabigato, which are 3 of the 6 grapes permitted for white port production, but they are used for dry wines as well. Viosinho traditionally adds fruit character. Rabigato adds texture and Gouveio is responsible for holding up the acidity. Gouveio in any other part of Portugal would be called Verdelho, and it’s one of the principle grapes in another famous fortified wine, Madeira. Despite the similar-sounding names, Portuguese Verdelho is completely unrelated to Spanish Verdejo or Italian Verdello. See? We told you it was a little complicated.
Beyond those 3 principle grapes Sampaio is blending in 12 others, some of which, to be honest, are indigenous Portuguese grapes we’ve never heard of. Everything is hand-harvested and co-fermented in whole clusters using the ambient yeasts from the vineyard. The wine is barrel fermented in a mixture of French oak and chestnut, which is super cool. You almost never see wines aged in woods other than oak. The wood is definitely noticeable on the nose for this wine, but on the palate the wood fades to let the fruit shine. Perhaps some of that subtly is due to the chestnut? Post-fermentation, the wine ages on lees for a year in concrete, undergoing a process called ‘battonnage’, where the lees are stirred into the wine to ensure more contact. This technique will take all the textural lees-contact stuff in the wine and turn it up a notch.
The Uivo Vinhas Velhas has tons of lush fruit. Lots of ripe pear with a little tropical fruit in the background, playing around with aromas of white flowers. The tasteful wood treatment and the texture remind us of quality white Burgundy. We’re glad we found the Uivo wines, and we’re excited for you to try their stuff!
Food Pairing
Avocado – That little bit of tropical fruit and the creaminess from the barrel and lees contact will match the rich vegetal sweetness of avocado perfectly.
Onion Rings – It seems like every week I’m recommending textural whites with deep-fried food, but the truth is that they were made for each other. Like with avocado, the sweet vegetal flavours of the onion and the deep fruit aromas will play well together.
Yogurt / Sour Cream – Something about the natural ferment or battonnage gives this wine pleasant lactic aromas, almost like the smell of fresh cream. Tzattziki, French onion dip, spinach dip.. Maybe opt for ‘regular’ flavoured chips to highlight the interplay between the wine and the dip. High-class snackin’.
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