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Aphros, Palhete [Amphora] 'Phaunus', 2023

Rosé Wine from Other Portugal, Portugal
by Aphros
$31.99
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Palhete is one of Portugal's oldest ideas: red and white grapes crushed and fermented together in the same vessel, giving a wine that is a category of its own: not quite red, not quite rose. Vasco Croft's version co-ferments roughly 80% Loureiro with 20% Vinhao, the inky, red-fleshed grape of the Lima Valley, in 1,100-to-1,400-liter clay amphorae in a cellar that runs without electricity. It rests seven months on its lees in those same vessels and goes into bottle unfined and unfiltered at 11% alcohol, from biodynamically farmed granite vineyards on the family quinta, Casal do Paco. The tannins are barely there; what you get is sour cherry and lime, a peppery snap, and wet-stone minerality. Only 5,700 bottles were made. Serve it properly chilled, alongside something off the grill.

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Robert Parker

93 points

"The pale red 2023 Phaunus Palhete is a separate category in Portugal—not red, not rosé but palhete, produced with a mixture of red and white grapes. But this is like a light red rather than a rosé; it is perfumed, floral and light- to medium-bodied, with fine, almost unnoticeable tannins and tasty flavors. It is indeed 80% white Loureiro and 20% Vinhão, a "tenturier" grape with colored pulp that gives a lot of color while the Loureiro certainly gives the wine its perfume. It fermented in 1,100- to 1,400-liter amphorae where it matured for six months. 5,700 bottles produced. It was bottled in August 2024." —Luis Gutiérrez

More about Aphros

We all know how refreshing Vinho Verde is. What we didn't know, until we tasted Aphros, was how serious it could be. Vasco Croft makes Vinho Verde that is layered, mineral and complex, yet (this is Vinho Verde after all) still utterly refreshing and often remarkably low in alcohol.

Vasco came to wine from architecture and furniture design, by way of Rudolf Steiner's ideas, and farms his family's 17th-century property, Casal do Paço, in the Lima Valley in Portugal's far north. This is the part of Vinho Verde where Loureiro, not Alvarinho, is the great white grape, alongside the inky red Vinhão. The vineyards are farmed biodynamically, certified by Biodyvin (and by Demeter before that). The name comes from the Greek for "foam," a nod to the sea-born Aphrodite.

The range runs from crisp, low-alcohol Loureiro to red Vinhão and pét-nats. The Phaunus wines are made in a cellar with no electricity, where Loureiro and a palhete of Loureiro and Vinhão ferment and rest for seven months in beeswax-lined clay talhas from the Alentejo, without added sulfur. Whatever the bottling, look for bright acidity, wet-stone minerality and a lot of character for the money.

Wine Details

  • Grape Variety

    Loureiro , Sousao

  • Vintage

    2023

  • Size

    750ml

  • Style

    Elegant , Juicy , Minerally

  • Sweetness

    Dry

  • Body

    Light Bodied

Flatiron's Take

From the Importer

What Skurnik Wines has to say about this wine:

80% Loureiro, 20% Vinhão.

Harvested and destemmed manually before spontaneous fermentation with the skins in beeswax-lined clay amphorae.

Sur-lie aging on the skins in amphorae for seven months before bottling without fining or filtration

Tasting Notes & Food Pairings

Perfect Pairings

Grilled chourico and pork belly, charred octopus, tomato salad with good olive oil, burgers off the grill, or piri-piri chicken.

Tasting Profile

Pale ruby, light-bodied and juicy. Sour cherry, cranberry, lime zest and a little black-pepper spice over wet-stone minerality. Brisk acidity, barely perceptible tannin, dry and refreshing finish.

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