Posts Categorized : Sparkling Wines

Murganheira – Sparkling wines of great quality

Text Olga Cardoso | Translation Bruno Ferreira

The Caves da Murganheira are located in the Távora-Varosa region, where the Douro and Beira regions meet. These fertile lands of the Varosa Valley combine excellent climatic and geological conditions which are favorable to the creation of wines of superior quality, basis of the best Portuguese sparkling wines.

It was founded over 60 years ago and possesses 30 heactares of own vineyard but controls and monitors over 1000 hectares of associated grape suppliers.

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Vineyards – Photo Provided by Murganheira | All Rights Reserved

The care over the vineyard is huge and is at the hand of very experienced professionals whose knowledge origin is probably from the medieval wisdom of Cistercian Monks.

Murganheira is a company with a family basis. It was acquired by Orlando Lourenço in the mid-80’s and is now led by his sons Miguel and Herlander. The winemaking direction is also at the hands of a family member – his daughter in law Marta Lourenço.

It has a very well-equipped winery where strict winemaking processes are put in place, according to ancestral techniques that are permanently being perfected.

In addition to Caves da Murganheira the company also possesses Caves da Raposeira and the Tapada do Chaves property in Alentejo.

Murganheira’s sparkling wines age in their blue granite cellars, which provide a perfect environment for the wine’s evolution and guarantees all the authenticity that the brand got their consumers used to.

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The cellars – Photo Provided by Murganheira | All Rights Reserved

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The Cellars – Photo Provided by Murganheira | All Rights Reserved

There’s also place for the “Degorgement á la Volée”, which is the culmination of this whole process of preparation of sparkling wines of exceptional quality.

Murganheira’s fame is associated with quality but is also one of the domestic producers with a better graphic image, which is reflected in advertising campaigns, creative packaging and beautiful space for reception and tasting.

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The Tasting Room – Photo Provided by Murganheira | All Rights Reserved

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The Tasting Room – Photo Provided by Murganheira | All Rights Reserved

Their sparkling wines are separated into 3 categories or groups named special, classic and gastronomic, and all of them possess an excellent quality-price relation.

Elegant and full of character, Murganheira sparkling wines are produced based on the following grape varieties: Malvasia Fina, Gouveio Real, Cerceal, Chardonnay, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz and Pinot Noir.

Talking about all of them would be a herculean task and not suitable for the cyber world so I selected the four that surprised me the most.

MURGANHEIRA CHARDONNAY BRUTO 2008

Golden color and elegant perlage. Refined aroma with complexity, showing jam fruit, biscuit, flowers, in a tone that immediately shows empathy. In the mouth is creamy with good volume, soft and unctuous, very textured with a large and pleasant finish. A fine sparkling wine.

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Murganheira Chardonnay Bruto 2008 – Photo Provided by Murganheira | All Rights Reserved

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Murganheira Único Bruto 2008 – Photo Provided by Murganheira | All Rights Reserved

MURGANHEIRA ÚNICO BRUTO 2008

This sparkling wine is made from the grape variety Sauvignon Blanc and shows itslef very delicate in the nose with the grape variety a little bit hidden at first. In the mouth the grape variety appears with its vegetal flavors. Evident are also fruits like passion fruit and apricot as well as vanilla notes. Very balanced and concentrated this sparkling wine has a truly captivating mousse.

MURGANHEIRA CZAR CUVÉE ROSÉ BRUTO 2008

Salmon color with a nose marked by subtle aromas of red fruits joined by slightly smoked and resinous notes. The mouth is amazingly elegant and passionate with a very delicate mousse and the Pinot touches come with delicacy and sofistication. Murganheira Czar is a sparkling wine of outstanding quality.

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Murganheira Czar Cuvée Rosé Bruto 2008 – Photo Provided by Murganheira | All Rights Reserved

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Murganheira Vintage Bruto 2006 – Photo Provided by Murganheira | All Rights Reserved

MURGANHEIRA VINTAGE BRUTO 2006

Truly remarkable, it shows a nose marked by the Pinot Noir red fruits together with citric, biscuit and fine spices aromas. The mouth is colossally elegant. Engaging mousse and perfect acidity. All very delicate with tremendous glow and class. A world class Portuguese sparkling wine.

I strongly advise those who enjoy sparkling wines to get a deeper knowledge over the Murganheira‘s range. Their entry range have the capability of give great pleasure and the top-end range are remarkable sparkling wines full of finesse and category. Sparkling wines of superior quality.

To get to know Murganheira‘s universe better see here the company’s institutional video.

Red Bubbles Pushing the Envelope

Text Ilkka Sirén

Sparkling wine has a unique place in our society. It is treated, talked about and consumed quite differently than any other beverage. Champagne’s centuries long marketing campaign has left a permanent festive stigma which affects the way we drink sparkling wine. It’s all about celebration, you see. Luckily nowadays there seems to be a trend towards more casual approach to bubbles. People popping bottles during the week without any major reason to celebrate. It is becoming more like your everyday wine than a festive statement that people use to underline the fact that “we are having a party”.

Despite the ongoing evolution in the world of wine, sparkling wine remains pretty much unchanged. It feels like nobody dares to break the marriage of wine and bubbles, and just perhaps create something different. Doing so is considered almost sacrilegious. But every now and then you do come across sparkling wines that make you snap out of this weird state of vinous dormancy.

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Red Bubbles – Photo by Ilkka Sirén | All Rights Reserved

Such a wine was Aphros Vinhão Super-Reserva Bruto. I visited a wine tasting here in Helsinki and came across a bottle of their red bubbles. Which doesn’t happen that often. First I thought “ah, Lambrusco” but to my surprise it came from Portugal, and from Vinho Verde of all places. Even though the wine region of Vinho Verde is well-known for its fresh white wines, there are some great red wines being produced there. One of the classics is a deep-coloured red wine from a grape called Vinhão. It produces wines so intensely red that after a glass you will look like a character from Twilight. Additionally the wines are usually acidic and quite tannic making it not the most approachable drop for novices. To make it even more bizarre it is traditionally enjoyed from a porcelain cup with seafood like grilled fish or a grim-looking lamprey. The end result, delicious.

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Aphros Vinhão Super-Reserva Bruto – Photo by Ilkka Sirén | All Rights Reserved

The wine itself was opaque with a red and purple hue. On the nose it was full of red berries and spices. An explosion of aromas both familiar and exotic. The mouthfeel was something else. Nothing can prepare you for it if you haven’t had this kind of wines before. The “mousse” was rich and more textured than your average sparkling wine. Quite intense yet surprisingly fresh at the same time. Plenty of spicy and earthy flavors with a nice tannin grip at the end. The finish had a similar refreshing bitter touch that you get from a very hoppy IPA beer. A bit herbal and vegetal but not in an unripe way.

Although it was not exactly a mainstream wine, I could actually see many people enjoying this. It might require a certain mindset going in and maybe some nice food to go along with it. But I think many people could appreciate the uniqueness of this wine. I have tasted only a handful of wines in my life that come close to what this wine has to offer. Daring? Yes. Viable? Who knows. Tasty? Abso-frigging-lutely!

Contacts
Quinta Casal do Paço
Padreiro (S. Salvador)
Arcos de Valdevez 4970-500 Portugal
Tel: (+351) 914 206 772
Email: info@afros-wine.com
Site: www.aphros-wine.com

Shades of Autumn

Text Ilkka Sirén

If there is one thing I know, one thing I’m absolutely certain of is that winter in Finland is inevitable. As a season it is not my favorite. But not because of the snow, that might sometimes be waist deep. It’s not even the cold which can reach -40°C in some parts of Finland. It is the darkness that really takes it out of me.

But autumn I like. In some way I even like it more than summer. The nature in Finland is beyond beautiful when the fall colors start to appear. There is something really magical in this season. Fresh sunny days, leaves on the ground, longs walks in the forests….aah, nice!

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Warming up the sauna – Photo by Ilkka Sirén | All Rights Reserved

The crackling sounds of a wood-burning sauna just might be the most relaxing sounds on this planet and it is something I associate with the dark nights of autumn. There is also something about autumn that makes me unusually thirsty for good wine. Not that I need many reasons to drink wine but the cozy-fireplace-hey-let’s-snuggle atmosphere of autumn really makes one want to sip wine like there is no tomorrow.

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Terras do Demo (The Bottle & The Pier) – Photo by Ilkka Sirén | All Rights Reserved

A quick getaway to the countryside after an intensive work trip is just what the doctor ordered. I picked up a friend of mine from the Helsinki airport late one evening and as we were driving through this thick fog the bottle I had left on the car floor started to attract attention amongst the thirsty travelers. My friend reached for the bottle and it turned out to be a rosé sparkling wine from the region of Távora-Varosa. This peculiar mountainous wine region shares a border with Douro in the north and Dão in the south. It’s quite remote and most of the vines grow at 500 to 800 meters above sea level.

Anyways, this bottle that was on the car floor was half empty before we got to the cottage but when we did finally reach our destination and settled in, I had a chance to taste it before it vanished.

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Terras do Demo – Photo by Ilkka Sirén | All Rights Reserved

Terras do Demo Touriga Nacional Rosé Bruto 2012
Some rosé bubbles are quite delicate and fresh, some are a bit meaty with more flesh around the bones. This wine is right smack in the middle of those two styles. At first glance it got me thinking “it’s not exactly champagne now is it?”. Ignorant, I know, but to the point. After a while this turned out to be a very decent sparkling wine with some good bang for the buck. The bottle promises too much for sure. I mean it’s a very pretty bottle. The necklace is exuding prestige and so on, dress to impress. But the liquid inside is more down-to-earth. Nice creamy mouth feel with a tasty sour lingonberry finish. Sitting in the end of the pier, watching the sunset, this wine can offer a delicious and unexpected treat from this curious little DOC.

Contacts
Moimenta da Beira
Sernancelhe
Vila Nova de Paiva
Sátão
Site: www.terrasdodemo.pt

Quinta da Murta = Arinto

Text João Pedro de Carvalho

The region of Bucelas (demarcated since 1911) is situated at the gates of Lisbon, municipality of Loures. It is characterized by the production of white and sparkling wines based on the Arinto grape. It won fame abroad when during the Peninsular War/French Invasions, General Wellington may have taken a few casks of white Bucellas wine to King George III, and the “Lisbon Hock” started to be exported in large quantities to England. It may as well have been the wine Shakespeare immortalized with the name “Charneco”.

The entire region decayed for many years until the appearance of new projects at the beginning of the 1990s, when the figure of the oenologist Nuno Cancela de Abreu played a very important role.

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Vines Quinta da Murta – Photo By João Pedro de Carvalho | All Rights Reserved

One of the projects was Quinta da Murta, a wine estate with 27 hectares, located 2.5 km from Bucelas and approximately 20 km north of Lisbon, with the first harvest in 1994.

The property has 14.5 hectares of vineyard, planted at 250 meters of altitude on the valley slopes of the Boição stream, enjoying soils composed of limestone, with numerous fossils. With the natural presence of Arinto grape, whose natural acidity combined with the characteristics of the soil and the microclimate of the region allows Quinta da Murta to produce, now with the winemaker Hugo Mendes, unique wines with great potential for aging where the range of white and sparkling wines shines.

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Quinta da Murta Reserva Bruto 2008 – Photo By João Pedro  de Carvalho | All Rights Reserved

Quinta da Murta Reserva Bruto 2008 (DOC Bucelas)
A small portion of the lot was fermented in used barrels, later maturing in the bottle. Shows an evolved, complex Arinto, with very fresh aromas, ripe citrus, lemon pie, lemon tree leaf, apple, very live and direct with minerality in the background. Mouth with a lot of frills, mousse with slight citrus, liveliness and minerality sensation in the background, beautiful acidity with a persistent and dry finish. A sparkling wine that calls for seafood dishes, for example, mussels or clams au natural with only a few drops of lemon juice and chopped coriander. Enjoy!

Contacts
Quinta da Murta, Estrada Velha do Boição nº 300
2670-632 Bucelas Portugal
Tel: 210 155 190
Mobile: 932 857 750
Fax: 210 155 193
Email: qmurtageral@hotmail.com
Site: www.quintadamurta.pt

Summer Kick-Off and Bairrada Bubbles

Text Ilkka Sirén

The winter in Finland has been long, cold and dark. I’m not the biggest fan of the winter here. I don’t mind the cold or the snow, it’s the darkness that really takes it out of me. Imagine going to work, it’s dark. You get out of work, it’s dark. If you work in an office without a window there’s a good chance that you wont see the sun for a couple of months, except maybe on the weekends. And even then the weather might be cloudy.

You only realize how big of an effect this has on people when Spring arrives. When we start getting more daytime in Finland, it feels like the whole country and its people change. Spring here has been equally difficult. It has not been that long since we got our last bit of snow. The winter weather usually does make a couple of comebacks in Spring time which, at this point, doesn’t really surprise anyone. What did surprise us is the awesome weather we have been having here for the last couple weeks. I mean, you could walk outside in a t-shirt! I visited Lisbon last week and it was colder there than in Helsinki, which never happens. When I returned to warm Helsinki I knew it was time for a summer celebration.

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Barbecue Station – Photo by Ilkka Sirén | All Rights Reserved

Mission number one: I had to assemble a new barbecue station. My father-in-law is a BBQ enthusiast, as am I, so proper appliances are needed for the summer. In just 26 “easy” steps and a couple of beers later we managed to put together a pretty badass BBQ machine. At this point I should point out that we Finns love to barbecue. We spend most of the year indoors so when the weather permits we make the most of it.

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Barbecuing – Photo by Ilkka Sirén | All Rights Reserved

There was some excitement over the weekend because Finland was playing in the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, which is quite a big deal in this part of the world. The Finnish team had played quite badly in the beginning of the tournament but somehow managed to fight its way to the finals where we were to play against an old rival, Russia. Long story short, we lost. We played like champs and deserved to win but due to unfair referee game we got penalties like every two minutes. It was a very bitter game.

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Quinta do Ortigão Reserva Bruto 2010 white – Photo by Ilkka Sirén | All Rights Reserved

I think it was Napoleon who said “In victory, you deserve Champagne. In defeat you need it”. Well, in my house that same rule applies to any good wine and after that particular ice hockey game I badly needed some nice bubbles. Enter Quinta do Ortigão. Bairrada, the land of leitão -suckling pig, has been on my radar ever since I did my first harvest in Douro. Even back then when I knew very little about Portuguese wines the quality of the sparkling wines was impressive, thanks to the relatively cool climate and the BB. I’m not talking about Big Brother, I meant Baga and Bical grape varieties that are often used in the sparkling wine production in Bairrada. Most of the Bairrada bubbles are quite straightforward, fruity and very quaffable. Good but not great. But some of the bubbles have nice depth and plenty of character which makes the region very intriguing.

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Cork – Photo by Ilkka Sirén | All Rights Reserved

Quinta do Ortigão Reserva Bruto 2010 white
The wine has a few years of age and you can already detect some developed aromas. On the nose you have a nice mix of green apples, spices and lime. More restrained and not as fruit forward as the younger bubbles from Bairrada. A delightful aperitive but also wine that can handle food. I had it with some grilled veggies and it worked like a charm.

Contacts
Quinta do Ortigão
3780-227 Anadia
Bairrada – Portugal
Tel: (+351) 231 503 209
Fax: (+351) 231 503 209
E-mail: palegre@quintadoortigao.com