Aphros Phaunus Amphora Loureiro 2019

Cellar for up to 3 years. Serve chilled.

After working as an architect in Lisbon for many years, in 2002 Vasco Croft opened his own winery on his family’s 17th century Casal do Paço estate in Vinho Verde. Croft had long been interested in biodynamic agriculture, so it is only natural that on his estate he tries to work in harmony with Mother Earth as much as possible. This includes only using natural treatments on the vines and using wild yeasts found in the winery and on the skins of the grapes rather than commercial yeasts.

In 2015 Croft decided to divide his wines into two series, one of which is made in a contemporary cellar and the other in a medieval cellar without the use of electricity. This second brand is called Phaunus and uses artisanal methods including clay amphora for fermentation and ageing which give a unique character to the wines.

This stunning Loureiro white is harvested by hand and then fermented spontaneously with the skins using wild yeasts in the clay amphorae. The young wine is then aged on the lees for 7 months before bottling. The result is a unique and unusual wine which is bursting with complex notes of beeswax, bitter almonds and ripe apricots and peaches.