Casal de Ventozela Pet Nat

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 There are certain things in the wine world that puzzle me and the fact that Hugo Mendes is not represented in Germany is one of them. 

Since I have came across his work and consequently met him in Santarém that I have the feeling that there is a high potential not only on his work but also on showing how Portugal is going through a wine revolution, redefining its own parameters as well as adapting to a quickly changing market and drinking habits.

 From the projects that I was given the opportunity to try lately, I want to highlight my recent fascination with Pet Nats coming from the vinho verde region. If the one from Quinta de Amares has already conquered a fixed spot on the wines that I often go back to, today it was time for me to come across the one by Casal de Ventozela.

 Made of Loureiro and Fernao Pires ( this last one quite an uncommon grape in the north of Portugal, I have to say) it has very decent citrus fruits allied with some white tea and a tremendous freshness which seduced me from the very first sip. 

In fact, it was the perfect start to a meeting that I have been delaying for way too long to a portuguese wine shop which tries to show that Portugal can also offer quality wines. 

It was again very refreshing to meet its owner and feel that there is space for independent projects in the "portuguese neighbourhood" of Hamburg, an area dominated by Portuguese restaurants and one of the most touristic in Hamburg. 

As the talk moved on and I have tried a couple more wines available at the shop, I kept in a very vivid way its liveliness and how the yeasts present in the wine have finely combined with its primary flavours enriching them by offering an interesting complexity.

With the weekend ahead and with the temperatures promising a rather summery day, I am almost sure that the bottle I have bought won't survive till Monday. 

 

By the way, if everything works out fine I will be bringing Hugo's wines to Hamburg so that wine world can make a bit more sense to me.   

 

 

16/20

Country: Portugal
Region: Vinho Verde
Grapes: Loureiro; Fernao Pires
Winemaker: Fernando Moura;  Pedro Campos
11,5%
Link: https://www.casaldeventozela.com/ 

 

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