Antonio Pereira Tinto Bom 2017

Tinto Bom is a 100% Tinta Nacional — the local Amarante name for Vinhão — from António Pereira's two vineyards, Baseira and Freixo, on the banks of the Tâmega River in Amarante, Vinho Verde. The vines grow at 80–150 meters elevation on granitic soils. The 8-hectare estate is certified organic through Sativa and was in conversion to Demeter biodynamic certification at the time of this vintage.

Grapes are hand-harvested, destemmed, foot-stomped, and fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks. The wine is then aged in stainless steel for approximately three years before release — an unusually long élevage for the region. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered with no added sulfur.

The result is a wine that looks the part of a serious red — dark, inky, and deeply pigmented — but behaves like classic Vinho Verde on the palate: light-bodied, high in acidity, with a barely-there spritz. Flavors run toward blackberry, earth, bitter chocolate tannins, and a green-stemmy lift. At 12.5% ABV, it drinks well slightly chilled.

Red Vinho Verde is a minority style that was historically common in the region until export demand shifted production almost entirely to white. This wine is one of the few serious examples reaching the U.S. market.