Meaning of "pinote": jump, bound, caper, hop, curvet, kick (of horses);

Vines grown in calcareous clay soils in Mogofores municipality.

Arinto, Bical, Viognier, Verdelho and Sauvignon Blanc

Grapes gently crushed, followed by static defecation. Partial fermentation in                            new and used oak barrels. Lot formed in May 2008, subsequent filtration and                          bottling.

Best served at a temperature between 12ºC and 14ºC.

Production (bottles): 2.666

Bottled in: June 2008

On sale from: July 2008  

Viticulturist: Carlos Campolargo

Wine Expert responsible: Gonçalo Sousa Lopes e Rui Cunha

Technical Sheet:

Meaning of "pinote": jump, bound, caper, hop, curvet, kick (of horses).

Set of aged vines located in the River Pinhão valley and one Touriga Nacional vine located in the River Torto valley.

Traditional old Douro varieties and Touriga Nacional.

Total destemming followed by gentle crushing. Fermentation in stone presses. Moderate temperature control. Trodden by foot combined with smooth, daily manual pumping over. Ageing in oak barrels for 16 months.
Wine neither filtered nor cold stabilised. May throw sediment.

Best served at a temperature between 16ºC and 18ºC.

Production (bottles): 2.666

Bottled in: June 2008

On sale from: July 2008   

Viticulturist responsible: Gonçalo Sousa Lopes

Oenologist Responsible: Carlos Campolargo

Technical Sheet:

Cima Corgo: Rio Torto and Vargelas.
The river Torto is one of the principal affluent da margem Sul do river Douro. The vines that were selected for this wine have between 40 and 50 years and were planted in terraces. These terraces show different expositions, orientations and altitudes without leaving the river’s proximity, influencing the wine’s different characteristics: flavours, freshness and structure.
The ruby colour and the floral notes have their origin in a vineyard planted with Touriga Nacional with 20 years that is located on the left bank of the Douro river in the mitical freguesia of Vargelas.   

Traditional Douro grape varieties such as Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca and Touriga Nacional.

Total destemming. Combination of fermentations in small stainless steel vats and stone lagares. Moderate temperature control. Gentle manual pumping on a daily basis and foot treading. Partially aged in oak casks for 10 months. The wine was neither filtered nor cold stabilised. It will therefore, with time, throw a natural deposit in the bottle.

Colour: Deep ruby.

Aroma: Fresh with good intensity, elegant floral notes and light suggestions of cask toasting.

Palate: Smooth, elegant, hinting at wild berries. Persistent finish.

Should be appreciated at a temperature of between 15º C and 17º C. Serve with Mediterranean food and traditional Portuguese dishes.

Production (bottles): 21.300

Bottled in: Ausgust 2006

On sale from: February 2007

Winemaker: G&R Consultores

Technical Sheet:

Cima Corgo (Favaios).
We selected a group of old vines planted in terraces with predominant exposure to the south and with very poor and highly rocky soil.
The complexity of the wine originates from high-density planting, low yield and a vast array of grape varieties.

Traditional from old Douro valley vines.

Total destemming followed by smooth crushing. Fermentation in stone lagares. Moderate temperature control. Foot treading combined with smooth manual daily pumping over. Aged in oak barrels for 12 months.
Wine neither filtered nor cold stabilised. May throw sediment.

Colour: Ruby with good depth.

Aroma: Mature with good intensity, which brings out the ripe red fruits and elegant floral notes. Slight suggestions of barrel toast.

Palate: Full-bodied, voluminous and elegant. Finish with persistence.

Should be appreciated at a temperature of between 16 ºC to 18 ºC. Serve with Mediterranean food and traditional Portuguese dishes.

Production (bottles): 7.000

Bottled in: April 2007

On sale from: October 2007

Viticulturist responsible: Gonçalo Sousa Lopes

Wine Expert responsible: Rui Cunha

Technical Sheet:

[REE-a]:     
Astrology - Saturn Satellite discovered by Giovanni Cassini in 1672.
Greek Mythology – Daughter of Uranus, God of the Heavens, and of Gaia, Goddess of the Earth. Sister and wife of Cronus (Saturn). She is looked upon as the mother of the greatest Gods such as Demeter, Hades (Pluto), Hera, Hestia, Poseidon (Neptune) and Zeus (Jupiter).

Cima Corgo (Favaios).
The choice of the location is due to the altitude where the vines are as well as the array of grape varieties.
The 550m where the vines are allow smooth maturing, providing high aromatic concentration and balanced acidity.

Traditional Douro valley grape varieties such as Gouveio, Rabigato, Moscatel, Malvasia Fina and Fernão Pires.

Total destemming. Pressing of whole grapes. Static defecation. Fermentation in stainless steel vats with temperature control. Ageing on fine sediment until December 2007.

Cor:             Citrine green.

Aroma:        Intense and fresh, elegant floral and tropical notes.

Paladar:       Dry, balanced and voluminous acidity. Persistent finish.

Should be appreciated at a temperature of between 10 ºC to 12 ºC. Serves well with light and healthy gastronomy.

Production (bottles): 8.000

Bottled in: February 2008

On sale from: March 2008

Winemaker: GR Consultores Lda

Productor: Quinta da Faísca / GR Consultores Lda

Technical Sheet:

[REE-a]:     
Astrology - Saturn Satellite discovered by Giovanni Cassini in 1672.
Greek Mythology – Daughter of Uranus, God of the Heavens, and of Gaia, Goddess of the Earth. Sister and wife of Cronus (Saturn). She is looked upon as the mother of the greatest Gods such as Demeter, Hades (Pluto), Hera, Hestia, Poseidon (Neptune) and Zeus (Jupiter).

Cima Corgo: Rio Torto and Vargelas.
The river Torto is one of the principal affluent da margem Sul do river Douro. The vines that were selected for this wine have between 40 and 50 years and were planted in terraces. These terraces show different expositions, orientations and altitudes without leaving the river’s proximity, influencing the wine’s different characteristics: flavours, freshness and structure.
The ruby colour and the floral notes have their origin in a vineyard planted with Touriga Nacional with 20 years that is located on the left bank of the Douro river in the mitical freguesia of Vargelas.   

Traditional Douro grape varieties such as Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca and Touriga Nacional.

Total destemming. Combination of fermentations in small stainless steel vats and stone lagares. Moderate temperature control. Gentle manual pumping on a daily basis and foot treading. Partially aged in oak casks for 10 months. The wine was neither filtered nor cold stabilised. It will therefore, with time, throw a natural deposit in the bottle.

Colour:       Deep ruby.

Aroma:      Fresh with good intensity, elegant floral notes and light suggestions of cask toasting.

Palate:    Smooth, elegant, hinting at wild berries. Persistent finish.

Should be appreciated at a temperature of between 15º C and 17º C. Serve with Mediterranean food and traditional Portuguese dishes.

Production (bottles): 21.300

Bottled in: August 2006

On sale from: February 2007

Winemaker: GR Consultores Lda

Productor: Quinta da Faísca / GR Consultores Lda

Technical Sheet:

[REE-a]:     
Astrology - Saturn Satellite discovered by Giovanni Cassini in 1672.
Greek Mythology – Daughter of Uranus, God of the Heavens, and of Gaia, Goddess of the Earth. Sister and wife of Cronus (Saturn). She is looked upon as the mother of the greatest Gods such as Demeter, Hades (Pluto), Hera, Hestia, Poseidon (Neptune) and Zeus (Jupiter).

Cima Corgo (Favaios).
We selected a group of old vines planted in terraces with predominant exposure to the south and with very poor and highly rocky soil.
The complexity of the wine originates from high-density planting, low yield and a vast array of grape varieties.

Traditional from old Douro valley vines.

Total destemming followed by smooth crushing. Fermentation in stone lagares. Moderate temperature control. Foot treading combined with smooth manual daily pumping over. Aged in oak barrels for 12 months.
Wine neither filtered nor cold stabilised. May throw sediment.

Colour:      Ruby with good depth.

Aroma:      Mature with good intensity, which brings out the ripe red fruits and elegant floral notes. Slight suggestions of barrel toast.

Palate:    Full-bodied, voluminous and elegant. Finish with persistence.

Should be appreciated at a temperature of between 16 ºC to 18 ºC. Serve with Mediterranean food and traditional Portuguese dishes.

Production (bottles): 7.000

Bottled in: April 2007

On sale from: October 2007

Winemaker: GR Consultores Lda

Productor: Quinta da Faísca / GR Consultores Lda

Tecnical Sheet:

Cima Corgo.
The grapes come from very old vines embedded in small valleys.
Cultural practices of the time recommended high density planting, thus obliging the roots to explore deeper ground. This practice along with the age of the vines causes low production.
All these vines share a common characteristic: they present an aged and twisted trunk.

Douro valley grape varieties.

Partial destemming followed by smooth crushing. Fermentation in stone lagares with foot treading and in stainless steel vats with smooth daily manual pumping over that allows prolonged macerations to be carried out. Moderate temperature control. Aged in oak barrels for 16 months.
Wine neither filtered nor cold stabilised. May throw sediment.

Colour: Intense garnet and violet.

Aroma: Complex and intense. Very ripe red and black fruits combined with balsamic suggestions stand out. Floral background. Spice notes.

Palate: Full-bodied, voluminous and elegant at the same time. Firm and ripe tannins that provide persistence during tasting.

Serving: Should be appreciated at a temperature of between 16 ºC to 18 ºC. Serve with game based dishes and strong cheeses. We recommend decanting.

Glass: Bordeaux-style.

Production (bottles): 3.200

Bottled in: April 2007 

Foram também engarrafadas garrafas de 1.5, 3, 6 e 12 litros

Ver tamanhos das garrafas:

On sale from: October 2007

Winemaker: GR Consultores Lda

Productor: Quinta da Faísca / GR Consultores Lda

Tecnical sheet:

Secret Spot is a project by Gonçalo Sousa Lopes and Rui Cunha aimed at producing wines from a single vineyard that has potential to create a wine of unique qualities.
Every year we monitor different vineyards that we believe have suitable characteristics, but only one can be labelled Secret Spot.
To ensure secrecy, the vineyards are identified with colours. The source of the wine corresponds to the coloured spot on the top of the capsule. The gold colour of the label was chosen to represent the Douro region, and may be of a different colour in the future.

The 2004 wine year began with a dry winter. The first rains coincided with budbreak - this year in the last week of March - which contributed to consistent development of the plants.
Flowering and fruit set (between April and May) occurred under ideal conditions: dry, warm and sometimes windy weather. These conditions resulted in well-formed bunches.
During the lag phase and veraison, temperatures were very high, as is normal for the region. The dry weather led to early defoliation of lower leaves, thus affecting veraison.
The start of ripening (August) coincided with quite unusual conditions for the region, with mild temperatures and relatively high humidity.
At the beginning of September, the hot dry weather returned, providing perfect ripening and producing high quality grapes.

The vineyard that produced the grapes for this first Secret Spot has been cultivated for more than 70 years and is planted with a mixture of traditional Douro grape varieties. Its very low production per vine (less than 200 grams) and human intervention limited to cultural operations of pruning and harvesting demonstrated the balance between the vine and the 2004 farming year.
The vines had a low level of growth and very small bunches with relatively few berries. To a layman it may look like an abandoned vineyard ...

The grapes were harvested on 15 September in excellent weather conditions. The grapes were picked by hand into perforated 15kg boxes and taken from the vineyard on muleback. They were taken to a refrigerating unit were they remained at 5ºC for 18 hours.

Individual selection of bunches on a sorting belt, total destemming followed by gentle crushing of the grapes. Fermentation and traditional foot treading in a stone lagar. Moderate temperature control. Aged in new oak barrels for 14 months. A minimalist oenological attitude was followed during this wine’s entire production process in order to guarantee its full personality. Wine neither filtered nor cold stabilised. May throw sediment.

Colour: Very intense lively red.

Aroma: Young, combining depth and complexity, showing very ripe wild berries with some spice notes emerging, in addition to a balsamic touch. Elegant sweetish and smoked note from the barrel ageing.

Palate: Very smooth attack. Tannins present, but very fine. Full-bodied. Concentrated. Long and satisfying finish.

Should be appreciated at a temperature between 16ºC and 18ºC. We recommend decanting the wine during the first years of its life.

Production (bottles): 2.650

Bottled in: March 2006 

Em Março de 2007 foram também engarrafadas garrafas de 1.5, 3, 6 e 12 litros (num total de 225 litros do mesmo lote, que permaneceu 36 meses em casco).

Ver tamanhos das garrafas:

On sale from: November 2006

Winegrower: Gonçalo Sousa Lopes

Winemaker: Rui Cunha

Ficha Técnica: