Text João Pedro de Carvalho | Translation Jani Dunne

Continuing our trip around Bairrada, we are now ending it with a visit to one of the best producers in the region, Caves da Montanha (Anadia). Their annual production is about one million and seven-hundred thousand bottles, although about two million bottles are currently stored in the long underground cellars, twenty-thousand of which have been ageing for over twenty-four months in bottles. In Portugal, high-quality sparkling wine hasn’t always been around. It has been growing and proving itself to consumers in the last decade. The reality is that the wine available in Portugal these days was never this good before, but adding to all that, it is also true that Bairrada is becoming a region where it makes more and more sense to produce sparkling wine.

Founded in 1943 by Adriano Henriques, the company has been passed down from parents to children, and is currently run by the fourth generation, more specifically by Alberto Henriques. Although the range of products is spread across every region, including many kinds of products, in my opinion, the soul of this business is in Bairrada sparkling wines. The oenology team is composed by António Selas and Bruno Seabra along with Alberto Henriques; they have been very able to find the right path, and together, they have helped rebuild the Bairrada region.

In order to accomplish the renewal of an entire region, Comissão Vitivinícola da Bairrada (Bairrada wine-growing commission) contributed a lot. It’s represented by José Pedro Soares, their dynamic president. But that subject on its own deserves another article; for now, it’s more important to highlight the sparkling wines tasted at Caves da Montanha cellars. The first was Montanha Grande-Cuvée Baga 2009, born in an excellent year, according to the producer. This bubbly reveals a more classical profile, if one may call it so; it combines notes that prove a little evolution with the freshness of ripe fruit, notes of biscuit and a hint of nuts. Good presence on the mouth, the fruit showing its presence in both flavour and quantity, a lot of elegant freshness, and the finish shows good persistence. This sparkling wine has enough energy for more heavily seasoned meals.

In 2008, the first reference to Montanha Grande Cuvée Chardonnay-Baga emerges. Very fresh on the nose, a hint of biscuit and notes of pear, a lot of fruits related to the Chardonnay variety and a pinch of yeast. Good exuberance in the blend, a thin, elegant mousse, its acidity cleanses the palate, composing a sparkling wine that creates easy harmony around the table. The Montanha Real Grande Reserva 2009 is top-of-the-range. It is released almost every two years and, in this harvest, reveals a blend of Chardonnay, Arinto, Pinot and Baga. Its aroma is of fruit cocktails, light biscuit-y notes, some jam, a lot of freshness, and stamina. The mouth shows engagement, which fills up the palate; freshness with the feeling of creaminess, a dry and long finish.

Caves da Montanha Chardonnay-Baga 2008 – Photo Provided by Caves da Montanha | All Rights Reserved

Caves da Montanha A.Henriques Edição Especial 70 Anos 2006 – Photo Provided by Caves da Montanha | All Rights Reserved

For the end, we left A. Henriques Edição Especial 70 Anos Bruto 2006, a sparkling wine made from Chardonnay, Arinto and some Baga, which combine very good freshness with notes of the passing of time. Involved in a delicate and very thin complexity that combines aromas of the white pulp in Chardonnay, the more citrus-like aftertastes of Arinto, with the Baga adding robustness to the blend. In the background, notes of biscuits with herbal tea, some toasted bread in a complex blend, which on the mouth proves quite elegant while combining light creaminess with the lovely freshness of the fruit. It shone as it accompanied the Bairrada-style roast suckling pig.

Contacts
Rua Adriano Henriques 12
Apartado 18
3781-907 Anadia
Portugal
Tel: (+351) 231 512 260
Fax: (+351) 231 515 602
Website: www.cavesdamontanha.pt