Producer Overview:
This elegant whitewashed adobe winery – the adega – shaded by tall eucalyptus trees, nestles in one of the valleys, flanked by vineyards. The vast majority of the large oak and chestnut tonels, housed in the two main wings, are 50 to 100 years old. The tropical hardwood heads are almost a century old. Mouchão has roughly 100 acres of vineyards most of which are on the well-drained, alluvial soils of the valley floor. All operations were fully manual – including pumping– until as recently as 1991 when electricity was installed. However, work rhythms remain largely unaltered and grape crushing continues to be done by foot. All drained red musts at Mouchão continue to be pressed in four fully-manual ancient basket presses, which produce low yields of the highest quality. First vineyard plantings at Mouchão when two professors from Montpellier visit, bringing cuttings of the first Alicante Bouschet. Alicante Bouschet thrives in hot, dry growing conditions; at Mouchão a wet winter is often indicative of a quality harvest.
Red
The Estate’s flagship wine was first bottled in 1949. Sourced predominantly from the Estate’s best Alicante Bouschet grapes from the Carapetos, Ponte das Canas and Dourada vineyards, with up 15% of other local varieties – mainly Trincadeira – grown on the Estate. The latter provides an important aromatic component as Alicante Bouschet’s primary aromas are naturally shy. Foot-trodden and vinified in stone lagares and then aged in old wooden tonéis for up to three years, the wine is then bottled and not released for a further two years. Traditionally a wine for laying down, Mouchão will benefit significantly from storage for up to two decades, sometimes more.
Ponte das Canas Red
A relatively new addition to the range, Ponte das Canas is a blend of the Estate’s very best Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Syrah, handpicked and foot trodden in traditional stone lagares – the same winemaking methods used at the adega for over a century. A blend of the Estate’s very best Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Syrah. The Estate’s top-end non-Alicante Bouschet, Ponte Das Canas is aged in a blend of tropical hardwood ‘tonels’ and new oak barriques and bottled 18-24 months after harvest.
Dom Rafael Red
Dom Rafael Tinto is sourced from old Aragonêz, Trincadeira, Castelão and Alicante Bouschet vines on the Mouchão Estate. Handpicked grapes are foot trodden and fermented in open lagares — the same winemaking methods used for over a century. This age-old blend is allowed to mature in oak ‘tonels’ and barriques until bottled, 12 months from harvest.
Tonel 3-4
This wine is made purely from Alicante Bouschet and is only produced in years when grapes attain exceptional ripening quality. Sourced exclusively from the thirty year old Carapetos vineyard, these prized whole bunches are foot-trodden, fermented and racked straight into tonels numbers 3 and 4, casks which, for decades, have been traditionally used to hold the year’s best Alicante Bouschet. Only produced in years when grapes attain exceptional ripening quality. The wine remains in these 5,000L casks for three years and is matured for a further two in bottle. Owing to small volumes, bottle numbers are very limited. Like Mouchão, Tonel No 3-4 is a wine for the long-haul and is emblematic of what Alicante Bouschet can achieve under the right conditions. We recommend that these wines be consumed after a minimum of 10 years from release, though they may peak long after that.