Listrão dos Profetas

Companhia de Vinhos dos Profetas e Villões

Companhia de Vinhos dos Profetas e Villões
Listrão 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.

Listrão is produced only on the island of Porto Santo, in the archipelago of Madeira, and is also known as Palomino Fino in Jerez de La Frontera, and Listan Blanco in Tenerife. This Listrão wine comes from a low-lying vineyard 80+ years old, protected from the winds and sea air by crochet walls or reed structures. This was whole bunch pressed, and fermented in older 228L French barrels, where it remained for 10 months. Lean and marine, with tight lemon pith, green apple whipped with a saline rinse, and lit with a buzzy stoniness. This brisk white alluringly tastes of the sea. 2800 bottles, hand numbered.

“The 2021 Listrão dos Profetas Vinho do P. Santo is all Listrão (a.k.a. Palomino Fino) aged for 10 months in used French oak. It comes in nicely dry and at 12.4% alcohol. This is vaguely similar to the winery's Caracol in this report, with perhaps more cashews than almonds, but here the texture is more sensual. That might be the biggest difference between them. Neither is a lush or rich wine, and both rely on acidity and structure more than a fruity demeanor. The Caracol can seem a bit brighter, while this struck me as slightly richer; however, it is close, and all that is relative. There are still interesting flavor nuances here, like those toasted nuts, and the acidity is well integrated. It's hard to pick between the two, as they are different sides of the same coin, but if pressed, I'd take this first. Ultimately, the answer will depend on how they develop and whether there is further improvement. This should age pretty well, but let's be conservative for the moment. There were 2,800 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: $99
Style: Still

Region: Porto Santo
Appellation: DO Madeirense
Country: Portugal

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