This is an “entry level” wine on a whole other level, a wine from another time. Antonio Madeira's vines are 50 to over 100 years old. Vinhas hella Velhas, if you get right down to it. Even wackier, it’s a field blend of more than 20 varieties. The farming and winemaking are super old-fashioned too: organic, even biodynamic work in the vines and minimal interventions in the winery.

Portugal once was one of the great wine countries of the world. Antonio’s home region, the Dão, has high altitudes and granite soils that yield serious wines with complexity and freshness, balancing the warm climate's richness and depth.

In the mid-century, the dictator Salazar's rule isolated Portugal and crushed the wine industry. Antonio’s family fled, and he grew up in Paris. When he fell in love with wine, though, he was overcome by the possibility of rediscovering what his ancestral homeland could make. Now Antonio is literally rediscovering his Portuguese roots and, in the process, making incredible wines.

Antonio Madeira, Vinhas Velhas Tinto Dão, 2020 $33.99
The critics love this wine. Vinous' Joaquin Hidalgo wrote that “The 2020 Tinto Vinhas Velhas is a field-blend of over 20 varieties from Dão. With a purple-red hue, the nose exhibits reductive notes reminiscent of blood, along with hints of plums and chutney. Rich and intense on the palate, the reactive tannins compact the fairly concentrated mouthfeel, resulting in a long-lasting red.”