Humus Curtimenta 2022

Rodrigo Filipe is the self-taught winemaker behind Encosta da Quinta, a family estate a few kilometres north of Lisbon and around 20 kilometres from the Atlantic, farming organically and making natural wines. Humus Curtimenta is an orange wine, the Portuguese term curtimenta meaning skin maceration, from white Arinto and Fernão Pires alongside the red Touriga Nacional, all fermented in contact with their skins so the must takes colour, phenolics and tannin. The estate sits close enough to the ocean that Atlantic breezes cool the vineyards and keep acidity fresh, which balances the grip the skins provide. Barrel ageing softens the texture through gentle oxygen exchange and adds savoury depth. The colour is amber with a copper tint. The nose shows apricot and orange peel, earth and dried herbs, with a faint plum note from the Touriga skins. The palate is dry, light-bodied and savoury, the skin contact giving a firm grip and an earthy, stony finish true to the estate's style. Serve at 12 to 13 degrees, decanting briefly.