Text João Pedro de Carvalho

Of all demarcated regions in Portugal the wines from the Azores are certainly the most forgotten, the less discussed, the less known and the ones that less often arrive at the table of the consumer. However the situation is changing and there is an effort by local authorities, between producers/CVR, so that these wines will be more frequently seen/consumed.

Focusing only on the Island of Pico, these are wines that are born substantially in the middle of the Atlantic, in soils of lava that mark the landscape of the island and that the local population differentiates between “lajidos” and “terras de biscoito” (Terceira Island). It is a peculiar region, shaped by the human being into the famous “currais”, considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, which isolation from everything made it a natural deposit of unique varieties and differentiating (smells and flavors) carried out by the settlers.

There are three varieties, the Arinto from the Azores, which is different from Arinto Bucelas, the Verdelho which was the first variety deployed on the island and identical to that of Madeira but it is different from the one found in Continental Portugal and the Terrantez do Pico, distinct from Terrantez from Madeira and from the Dão region.

For years the most famous wine of Pico Island was the “licoroso”, whose main characteristic is the non-addition of alcohol. Today the offer is wider and stretches from fresh white wines, with a salty/mineral taste to liqueurs that oscillate between the drier profile to a sweeter one, capable of surprising by their difference. A tasting of contrasts, surprises and comparatives where a strong connection to the table with fish and seafood has become more evident.

It counted with the presence of producers: Maria Álvares (Cooperativa Vitivinícola da Ilha do Pico), Marco and Rui Faria (Curral de Atlântis), Paulo Machado (Insula Vinhos) and Fortunato Garcia (Vinho Czar), and was led by winemaker António Maçanita (Fita Preta Vinhos).

Curral Atlântis Arinto dos Açores Colheita Seleccionada 2013 (IG Açores)
A lot of freshness, grapefruit, lime, lemon tree leaf, salt, less expressive than the Verdelho. A lot of energy on the palate, fresh, citrus juice, ripe minerality together with good aftertaste.

Curral Atlântis Verdelho Colheita Seleccionada 2013 (IG Açores)
Marked by tropical fruit, clean and ripe, fresh and salty, engaging with notes of flint. Mouth with freshness, herbaceous with fresh tropical fruit, dry with a medium finish.

Curral Atlântis Verdelho/Arinto dos Açores Colheita Seleccionada 2013 (IG Açores)
Tropical fruit aroma with citrus, very mature, good freshness, very clean and round embracing a very harmonious blend. Conjunction with harmony between varieties in a wine clearly made for the table.

Arinto dos Açores by António Maçanita 2013 (DO Pico)
Freshness in a set marked by a detail of clean fruit (citrus) and delicate touch, salt, all very balanced and giving a very pleasant taste. In the mouth it is fresh, salty, very citrine with persistent finish.

Insula Private Selection 2013 (IG Açores)
Done with Arinto dos Açores, strong character in a wine tense and with much force, notes of flint beside fruit clean and mature, grapefruit and lemon. Mouth with mineral austerity, almost saline, ripe fruit to involve at the end of a dry mouth and persistent finish.

Frei Gigante Reserva 2012 (DO Pico)
A different profile with a blend of Arinto dos Açores with Verdelho and Terrantez do Pico. All fragrant with ripe fruit (pear, grapefruit), smoked, salty, at the same time a feeling of greasiness and immersion. Mouth with good presence of ripe fruit, tasty, good acidity to finish dry and mineral.

Lajido Licoroso Seco 2002 (DO Pico)
Not a wine with an easy approach, recalls slightly Sherry wines, by oxidation in conjunction with a salty touch and dried fruit, buttery with slight iodine. Mouth with dryness, fresh with dried fruit and iodine, a persistent finish and length.

Lajido Licoroso Reserva Doce 2004 (DO Pico)
A more unctuous profile than the Lajido Seco, dry fruit notes covered in caramel, orange caramelized, raisins, biscuits, good complexity. Mouth to match the aromas, engaging and with a beautiful acidity. Long and persistent finish.

Czar Licoroso Superior Doce 2008 (DO Pico)
The more exotic and unusual wine from the tasting session, resin, touch of crystallized fruit with spices, herbs and “tisane”, good freshness packs the set with a touch of salt in the background. Fat, complex, greedy and strange, different and fun.

Curral Atlântis Verdelho/Arinto dos Açores Sweet 2005 (DO Pico)
Slept for 5 years in cask and for 1 year in bottle, very balanced, caramelized orange, saline and unctuous. Shows much freshness in palate connecting with caramelized fruit, syrup, in a long and persistent finish.