La Cave des Nomades Intoku 2018

Intoku is a pétillant naturel rosé from La Cave des Nomades, the Banyuls-based project of Portuguese musician and winemaker José Carvalho Moreira, known as Zé Tafé. The blend is equal parts Syrah and Merlot, sourced from parcels on the schist-dominated terraced hillsides and clay-limestone foothills of the Albères range near Banyuls-sur-Mer.

The wine is made by méthode ancestrale: grapes undergo four days of carbonic maceration, are then pressed to tank, and are bottled before fermentation finishes — capturing the remaining CO2 as natural bubble. Nothing is added. No fining, no filtration, zero added sulphur.

The result is a lightly sparkling, pale rosé with red fruit and a gentle yeasty texture — the kind of wine that drinks like a cross between a Provence rosé and a natural sparkling pét-nat from the Loire. Each cuvée is a micro-production of 300 to 1,200 bottles, and the distinctive cork label carries original artwork by artist Katja Stroph.

Zé's last vintage at the Banyuls estate was 2020, making the 2018 Intoku a wine from a project that no longer exists in this form. Bottled under Vin de France designation.