In Cheleiros, a quiet village few kilometers away from Lisbon and close to Mafra, the Manz family has discovered a new home, a new life and a vine variety considered extinct. One of the wines they produce since then has already been included, by Julia Harding, in the Top 50 best wines produced in Portugal.
There are moments when life decides to make happier choices than the ones we could ever do otherwise. By the time the Manz family has moved to Cheleiros, wine production occupied a remote location in their projects for the future.
But the offer of a hectare of land, and the contemplation of the bucolic scenery captivated André Manz that decided to be a wine maker for his own use, just for fun. Until the day when, in a business meeting, he offered his business partners the fruits of his hobby.
Widely praised, he decided to commercialize his hobby. In the acquired vineyard there were two hundred white grape vines from a vine variety that not even the young oenologists knew. They were the last Jampal vines, delicate grape, unprofitable, at the brink of extinction, yet of such exceptional quality.
The first wine, one hundred percent Jampal, was called Dona Fátima. It was placed among the 2010 Top 50 best wines from a selection of 1200 Portuguese brands. The renowned British wine critic compares it to a “delicate Gewürz” in the nose, with better acidity and more citrus fruit, recalling in the mouth a “Chenin do Loire”.
For Manz this was his consecration. His wine project soon merged with the desire to recover the reputation of the region. He restored the old, abandoned primary school and turned it into a cellar. In the old winepress he set up a permanent artefact exhibition that the inhabitants call museum.
Then, influenced by his creative momentum, he started new projects in several other regions. Soon Manz Douro appeared - a full – bodied, very elegant and complex wine with intense color that was awarded a Gold medal in the 2013 Mundus Vini contest.
From Palmela comes Contador de Histórias, a magnificent blend of Touriga Nacional, Syrah, Petit Verdot, smooth and aromatic.
From Cheleiros, a trip to Estremadura: Pomar do Espírito Santo is a full-bodied red, with ripe fruit and jam aromas, that agesin French and American oak. It was awarded a Silver medal in Mundus Vini.
Platonic was born from the desire of conglomerating vine varieties, tendencies and influences. It is a red with intense aromas, with Aragonez, Castelão and Touriga Nacional, very gastronomical, with all the complexity of superior wines.
Nowadays Manzwine exports for several countries in Europe, Asia and Brazil. The passion for quality combined with the bold blends give the portfolio of the winery an irresistible perfume of adventure. For Manz, whose destiny was marked by chance, this is just the beginning of other unexpected creations. At least that’s what the ones that love his wines are expecting.
