Folias de Baco Uivo Branco Vinhas Velhas 2023

Folias de Baco is a small producer in the Douro doing things a little differently. While the region is famous for Port and big, bold reds, they're making natural wines with minimal intervention. This one comes from old vines, around 80 years old, farmed organically in the stunning Cima Corgo sub-region.

Why does Cima Corgo matter? Because it's cooler than the rest of the Douro, with steep schist slopes and a continental climate. That means fresher, crispier wines than your average Douro white. The soils are schist, granite, and clay. The grapes are mainly Gouveio, Rabigato, Viosinho, plus 11 more that live all happily co-planted in the vineyard.  In the cellar, the wine ferments spontaneously in granite lagares, then ages in neutral wooden barrels and stainless steel tanks. 

Passion fruit and white peach doing a little dance. A squirt of lime, a handful of crushed herbs, some wet stones that have been sitting in the sun. Creamy in the middle but zippy at the edges, like something that can't decide if it wants to be serious or just have a good time. 

Pour it alongside grilled sardines, or a bowl of clams.