The vines of the Colares region, at the most western extreme of the European Continent, are a resilience prodigy. Its indigenous castes, withstand the phylloxera, the sea storms and the harsh winds of the Atlantic, to produce wines of noticeable freshness, unique character, that are rustic and saline that have been conquering winelovers hearts for many generations.
The Viúva Gomes cellar, crown of the portuguese winemaker market, garnishes one of Portugal’s most breathtaking rural landscapes, not far from the capital. There, in Almoçageme, Colares, the vines grow in sany soils, exposed to the mercilessness of the Atlantic. The region was demarked in 1908, but the wine production goes back to the Roman times. The wines conquered their notoriety by withstanding the phylloxera, due to its strong roots, that go as deep as eight meters, being this the reason to why they are still planted ungrafted, up to this date. Its native castes, red Ramisco and White Malvasia de Colares, are magnificently adapted to the terroir, producing wines of low alcohol content but very complex and mineral, with great potencial from aging in the bottle.
The cellar, established two centuries ago, presents itself today as a “boutique winery”, well ajusted to the constraints of the tiny demarked region in which it is located. The humble portfolio includes regional wines from Lisbon, named Patrão Diogo, that comprise a blend of the red Castelão and Aragonez castes and another of the Fernão Pires and Arinto whites, that come through as a mineral and interesting balance between the aroma and the taste, that includes the typical acidity of the Portuguese coast wines.
But the main atraction of this unique terroir is, undoutebly, the one that originates from their Colares DOC wines. A varietal red from the Ramisco caste, native from this area, with an Atlantic perfil and a very delicate mineral acidity, dry texture and some glow of the tannins, that vanishes with the years. It’s a passionate wine, that intertwines red and dried fruits aromas and cedar resin, in a complex harmony.
On the other hand, the Viúva Gomes white, also a varietal of the Malvasia de Colares caste, express itself with great minerality, with sea and iodine aromas, in which the freshness is well felt amougst the saline notes, the dry texture and a very delicate Atlantic acidity.
As time passes, the Viúva Gomes wines uphold a remarkable beam and freshness, The reds aquire moist land, cherries and raisins aromas, preserving the well structured tannins with noteacable salty notes at the finish.
Two centuries after its institutions, surviving the seas and the landscape changes, the sickness and convultions of history, the Viúva Gomes wines are a reflection of the passage of the time and human resilience, envoquing the winemakers’ passion, with a breath of sea.
