Search in Ânfora Branco 2023

The Wine Advocate
RP 92+
Reviewed by: Luis Gutierrez

The white Procura na Ânfora was first produced in amphorae in 2017, following Susanna’s experience with Filipa Pato (the 2015 Sidecar). These containers soften the wines, and the result is quite rounded. The Procura na Ânfora 2022 comes from an old vineyard of undetermined age (registration began late, around the 1950s) and is perhaps around 85 years old. The vineyard, located at a high altitude, is dry-farmed, head-pruned and planted with a mixture of grape varieties. The must fermented, without the skins, in amphorae, where it aged for eight months. Despite not being aged in wood, it has a somewhat toasted/smoky personality. Susana Esteban said that the wines from these amphorae are always like this. It has moderate maturation, 12.5% ​​alcohol and relatively high acidity, although not noticeable, as the container seems to have softened it. This wine develops a slight honey note over time in the glass. This wine is a lot of work for Susanna and is produced in small quantities. 2,660 bottles were bottled in June 2023.

Susana Esteban is a winemaker from Galicia who built her career in Portugal—at Quinta do Côtto and Quinta do Crasto in the Douro, and then in Alentejo, where she works as a consultant for several wineries and has had her own project since 2011. She produces between 35,000 and 40,000 bottles per year. Every year she collaborates with another winemaker or wine personality—a wine called Sidecar—the last two with Champagne producer Emmanuel Lassaigne and Galician distributor José Luis Aragunde, from Ribeira de Fefiñans.

She works in the Portalegre area, a cooler and higher-altitude part of the Alentejo, where ripening is slower and the harvest is later than in the south of the region. She works with leased vineyards and buys grapes, but has acquired a property in Alegrete, where she planted five hectares (60% red and 40% white varieties), which will complement her current portfolio in the future.

I tasted the current releases, mainly from the 2021 and 2022 vintages, as well as some older vintages, such as 2017, to observe the evolution of the wines. Both 2021 and 2022 had very hot summers, which blocked the ripening of the grapes. The effect of the vintage is milder in the mountainous area (Serra de São Mamede), where the nights are cooler than in Estremoz or the southern Alentejo. In 2021, there was more rain in the winter, while 2022 was drier. The style of the wines is quite similar, and Esteban believes this is due to the use of old vines with mixed varieties, which balance each other out in this high altitude area.

The Wine Advocate
RP 93+
Reviewed by: Luis Gutierrez

The Procura na Ânfora 2023 comes from an old vineyard of undetermined age (registration began late, around the 1950s), perhaps around 85 years old. This wine was first produced in 2017 in amphorae, following Susanna's experience with Filipa Pato in Sidecar 2015. The grapes were pressed, the must decanted and fermented in the amphorae with indigenous yeasts, where it also matured for eight months.

It has a pale color and a youthful profile, with typical Alentejo aromas of dried herbs and flowers, with slightly medicinal and balsamic touches. It has a moderate alcohol content of 12.5%, pH of 3.22, acidity of 5.8 grams and an absolutely dry finish. It is a vibrant, clean and tasty wine.