Chocapalha Arinto 2022

Dried Apricot, Pineapple, Fennel Seed, Sea Spray

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"Moving farther south and to the east, the climate of Tejo cools, as the ocean’s influence is greater. Quinta de Chocapalha is located in Alenquer, which is only a stone’s throw from the Atlantic Ocean. This area was famous for wine as far back as the Romans and was one of the few places allowed to continue to produce during Moorish occupation. When phylloxera wiped out the vines in this region in the late 1800s, the producers replanted but shifted production to high volume, poor quality varieties. Over time, the wines became less sought-after, and the region faded into obscurity.

In 1987, when Paulo Tavares da Silva and his wife Alice began looking for what they called their ‘family project,’ they were drawn to the land that would become Quinta de Chocapalha. They purchased almost 200 acres of land and began researching how, and from what, the old wines of the region’s heyday were produced. Systematically, they replanted the vineyards and orchards on the property with the goal of producing world-class wines. Today, they grow 14 different varieties, a mix of classic indigenous grapes and international favorites. Our feature is made entirely from one of the local varieties, Arinto de Bucelas.
The first reference to the Arinto de Bucelas grape was made in 1712 by Vincencio Alarte in the first written treatise on Portuguese viticulture. It is a very old variety whose parentage is not known and whose name creates lots of confusion in the wine world. The basic name Arinto is also used for other varieties in Portugal, including Loureiro to the north, but they are not the same variety. It is a grape that is well suited to the climate of the Tejo, it buds late, crops a good yield and retains high levels of acidity at ripeness. The Tavares da Silva family handles it well, direct pressing the grapes to tank, fermenting at low temperature and then allowing six months of lees contact to build richness." - Tim Varan