More about Inves

It’s amazing how much wine is packed into this single bottle from northeastern Portugal. The vineyard is roughly 150 years old, planted to a mix of red and white varieties on some of the country’s most isolated mountaintops. The blend is dominated by Trousseau, known locally as Bastardo, but more commonly known to readers of this newsletter as one of the Jura’s most important red varieties.

How did Jurassien Trousseau make its way to rural, mountainous Portugal? Likely, it was Cistercian monks, the religious order that helped to establish Burgundy as a major wine region, as well as pockets of Germany, Austria, Alsace, and beyond. The Cistercians’ greatest tool in spreading not just the word of God, but His holy gift of wine, was expansion across Europe.

A new project from two enterprising Portuguese winemakers, called Inves, is helping to reclaim and revitalize old, often abandoned vineyards in the Tras-os-Montes region, an effort that reminds us of Comando G in the Sierra de Gredos mountains, or Envínate in the Canary Islands and Ribeira Sacra.

Tras-os-Montes borders the Spanish regions of Galicia and Castile and Léon, hemmed in by the Douro River on one side and several sets of mountain ranges on the other. This has left the region very isolated, which has kept many old traditions alive, but also kept the area in relative poverty. As more and more young people move to the cities, and away from agriculture, their elderly parents and grandparents need responsible caretakers for their vineyards.

João de Gouveia Osorio and his partner Enrique Cizeron work simply in the cellar, employing whole cluster fermentation and a brief aging period in neutral oak. In addition to the Bastardo/Trousseau, the blend comprises the rare, red Tinta Gorda (known as Juan Garcia across the Spanish border), plus white varieties Malvasia Fina, Doña Branca, and Síria/Roupeiro. They impart lots of freshness and a translucent, nearly magenta hue to the wine.