Caracol dos Profetas

Companhia de Vinhos dos Profetas e Villões

Companhia de Vinhos dos Profetas e Villões
Caracol dos Profetas

Widely regarded as one of the most dynamic young winemakers in Portugal, António Maçanita crafts wines from the Azores archipelago to Alentejo, and now to Porto Santo, a small island off Madeira. He excels at capturing the essence of the regional terroir and traditions.

This latest project was created with his friend of 15 years, Nuno Faria, a Madeiran and restaurateur. The adventuresome duo have joined forces to explore the potential of these magical islands.

These 40-80 year old Caracol grapes grow close to the ground on sandy clay soils, protected by small walls. They were transported by boat to the island of Madeira since it is not legal to make wine in Porto Santo. It was fermented in stainless, on lees, where it remained for 3 months prior to blending and bottling.

“The 2021 Caracol dos Profetas Vinho do P. Santo Fazendas da Areia is all Caracol, an indigenous grape that the winery says is probably related to Listrão (hope that helps, but that is also known as Palomino Fino). It was aged for 10 months in used French oak and comes in at 12.6% alcohol. This is not a big wine that will make anyone declare it lush or rich, but it is a very fresh one. Bright and lively, it is impressive for its tension and finish, but it is well balanced, and the acidity is well integrated. It adds a somewhat different flavor nuance of some toast and nuts but nothing intense. This is a wine that leans more to structure than fruitiness. It seems to declare its seriousness from the get-go, happily managing to do that without relying on the wood. The acidity gobbles up the wood rather well. The only remaining question is where this is going and for how long. Let's start here and take that in stages. It has a good chance to develop and improve over the next several years. There were just 1,200 bottles produced.

These are all table wines, of course—not the more famous fortified Madeira —from António Maçanita (Fitapreta and others) and Nuno Faria. This distant outpost of Fitapreta is really separate, and Fitapreta is only in very tiny print on the back, no doubt a legal formality. Maçanita and Faria are on the front, and these are under "Madeirense," a long way from Alentejo. The winery says that Madeira was claimed in 1420, while the island of "Porto Santo was the first island to be discovered by the Portuguese. [I]t has the name ‘Saint Port’ because it is a safe harbor for sailors. Vineyards are trellised close to the ground to protect them from the wind and can be protected by stone walls known as ‘muros de crochet’ (similar to Pico Island) or barriers of cannes (similar to Colares). One of [the] biggest challenges is the lack of rain, so [we irrigate] using all the rain of the year in a ‘flooding’ technique, storing the water in these porous calcareous soils. In terms of vineyard surface, there are only 15 hectares left of vineyards on the island." The winery has acquired five blocks (fazendas) with vine ages between 40 and 80 years old.” 93 points, Mark Squires, The Wine Advocate

Read more about Companhia de Vinhos dos Profetas e Villões here.

Vintage: 2021
Bottle Size: 750 mL
Bottles per Case: 6
Price per Bottle: $63
Style: Still

Region: Porto Santo
Appellation: DO Madeirense
Country: Portugal

Grape: Caracol
Colour: White
Vegan: Yes
Organic: No
Biodynamic: No
Natural: No
Low Intervention: Yes