Serie Impar Bairrada Sercialinho 2022 Bairrada

Serie Impar Bairrada Sercialinho

Region: Bairrada, Portugal

Vintage: 2022

Bottle size: 75cl

Grape: Sercialinho

ABV: 12.5%

This wine is young and intriguing, with a nose that opens slowly in the glass to reveal a crystalline purity of lemony, waxy fruit. On the palate, the understated oak gives a lovely texture to the wine, while the acidity corsets the fruit, and drives the intensity of flavour through the finish which is, thanks in part to its 12.5% of alcohol, fresh and pure. It is a restrained yet compelling wine that will, we are certain, find its way into the pantheon of great Portuguese wines.

According to ‘Wine Grapes’, there are just nine hectares of Sercialinho planted in the world and all of these are all found in Bairrada. The Quinta de Pedralvites estate has a 2.5 hectare plot of Sercialinho planted on clay and limestone soils. The estate is just 25 kilometres away from the Atlantic coast and benefits from cooling sea breezes which ensure a slow and steady ripening of the grapes, allowing them to accumulate great aromatic intensity whilst retaining a refreshing acidity.

The grapes were hand harvested into small 20 kilogram boxes and were gently pressed in a pneumatic press upon arrival at the winery. Fermentation took place in a combination of three used 500-litre and one new 1,000-litre French oak barrels. Malolactic fermentation was avoided in order to retain the tangy vibrancy that characterises Sercialinho. However, the wine did go through a short period of bâtonnage post fermentation in order to encourage better integration of the oak, while still retaining the taut fruit that gives the wine its definition. Aged for a total of 12 months in oak, only 4,523 bottles of this unique wine were produced.

‘Série Ímpar’, meaning ‘Experimental Series’, was born from a challenge set to the Sogrape winemakers. Tasked with finding something new and innovative that they would like to experiment with, be it a grape variety, a zone or a production technique, the team have released five distinct wines in the series so far. The first was a Sercialinho from Bairrada, a restrained yet compelling wine that has found its place in the pantheon of great Portuguese wines. According to ‘Wine Grapes’, by Dr. José Vouillamoz, Jancis Robinson MW and Julia Harding MW, there are just nine hectares of Sercialinho planted worldwide, all of which are in Bairrada. The esteemed Luís Pato, who until 2019 had been the only producer working with this variety, believes that its high acidity makes it comparable to Riesling