Page 10 - Code de Vino, #17/23, a/w 2018
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8  Wine Club  Code de Vino #17  Code de Vino #17        Rui Cunha of Secret Spot Wines: "Winemaking is like painting"  9
 — What is the story of creating and developing Secret Spot   — Where are the vineyards located? What is the total area?   — Please tell us about the work in vineyards and work
 Wines?   How is the terroir special?  of Mr Gonçalo Sousa Lopes. What contribution does
          he bring to Secret Spot Wines?
 — I started working as a consultant since 1995. First in the Douro   — We source fruit from many different areas in the Douro valley,
 and Vinhos Verde Region, and later in Trás-os-Montes, Alentejo and   according to the style of wines we produce. For our whites we   — As I told you we don't have any vineyards. We want to feel free
 Colares. Gonçalo Sousa Lopes joined me later and was my partner   concentrate our selves in the higher parts of the region (altitude   to explore all the Douro Valley. Gonçalo's work is very important in the
 for the viticulture. In 2004 we had the possibility of renting a winery   between 450 to 600 meters). For example our Moscatel Galego   way that he oversees all the work that's being done in the vineyards
 in Favaios, and the dream of producing our own wine came truth…  Blanco grapes are sourced from Favaios, the "Grand Cru" terroir   by all the different growers, exchanges opinions and guides them
 for growing this grape. Our reds come from grapes closer to the river   in the way we want our grapes to be treated. Being constantly on the
 Douro, where the soils are poorer, have more schist and it’s much   road he is able to discover new vineyards, meet new growers and
 — Who is the founder and owner of the company?  hotter for having a more "fuller" maturation. In total we source fruit   is capable of sourcing more fruit. When harvest time arrives, our team
 from 28 ha.   starts to visit each vineyard once a week, to check the developing
 — We are 2 partners: Gonçalo Sousa Lopes (viticulture) & Rui Cunha   of the maturity. With all the information that Gonçalo has gathered
 (winemaking)  The terroir in the Douro is very special. We are talking about the   during the viticulture year we’re well "equipped" to start the process
 biggest schist “island” in the world, the bigger man build region in the   of winemaking.
 world (the terraces were hand build. The modern ones of course with
 the help of bulldozers) and the oldest demarked and regulated wine   At the end, we know our grapes so well as they were ours.
 region in the world. We have a main river, the Douro, that crosses the   That’s our aim!
 valley and many side rivers. Different altitudes, expositions, types of
 schist, etc. — all this strengthens the effect of different microterroirs,
 and all that we considered when creating our wines.


 — What grape varieties do you use?
 — We work 100% with native Portuguese wine varieties grown in the
 Douro valley. For our whites we work with Moscatel Galego Branco,
 Viosinho, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina and Rabigato. For our reds (and
 rosé) Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cão, Tinta
 Barroca. We focus also on old vineyards, and there as you know
 we work with field blends. In some vineyards you can find up
 to 40 different varieties.

 Rui Cunha and Gonçalo Sousa Lopes


 — What is the company's philosophy?
 — The company is called Secret Spot Wines, handcrafted wines   — Which wines do you consider as the company's best?
 from the Douro Valley. First we source fruit from different spots all
 over the Douro Valley. Second we are like "tailors" that handcraft each   — It's a very difficult question to ask… (as if you was asking me,
 wine. By applying "less is more" during the winemaking and aging   which of my sons I like the most…) for me all our wines are
 but looking very carefully at every little detail we arrive to produce   of exceptional quality for their price range. But I'm particular proud
 wines that show the regions characteristics with elegance,   of the single variety Lacrau Moscatel Galego Branco, our Crooked
 finesse and coherence.      Vines Red (a tribute to the old vineyards of the valley) that is a blend
          of 21 different old vineyards and our icon wine the Secret Spot that
          is a single vineyard bottling. To show the different terroirs from
          the valley we choose every year a different one…








                                                              I can't forget to mention our Secret Spot Moscatel do Douro
                                                              40 years. The first, and until now, the only Moscatel do Douro
                                                              being produced with this category. Ideal for paring with a nice cigar.


                                                              — Which vintages are the best for Secret Spot Wines?
                                                              — The region blessed us with a couple of excellent vintages like
                                                              2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. Even 2012, which was when
                                                              it was released, not so well ranked by the critics is developing with
                                                              elegance and showing today much more expressive and giving much
                                                              more drinking pleasure than the highly rated 2011 that still needs
                                                              a few more years of bottle maturation.
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