90POINTS
16½/20
Aphros Phanus Palhete 2017
Vinho Verde, Northern Portugal, PortugalHard to be more natural than Aphros' founder and winemaker Vasco Croft. He made this wine, and others in the Phaunus range, without electricity. Palhete is the local name for a wine that is made in a farmer's style, by blending red and white grapes to create a low-alcohol wine to drink during the day. This biodynamically farmed and produced blend of loureiro (white) and vinhão (red) was crushed, destemmed, and pressed by hand power, then native fermented on skins in a large beeswax-lined talha (the traditional clay amphorae of Alentejo) for 7 months before it was bottled without filtration. The colour is a cloudy peach hue, echoed in the apricot / peach pith ruling the astringent palate, and joined by wild strawberry, raspberry vinegar, pink peppercorns, and a furry grip of tannins that brackets this wine. Unusual, to say the least, and it works. Chill and enjoy.Tasted: 15 January 2020Tasted by: Treve RingPrices:ON | $37.95 | 750ml | consignment |
Blend: Loureiro - VinhãoUPC: 5600329048995