I was gifted the opportunity recently to sit with Pedro Ribeira at Gjelina in Venice, California. With his wife, Catarina, the wines of Herdade do Rocim are made. Located in southern Portugal, in the Alentejo region, The Ribeiros have assembled a line of wines the likes of which anyone would be proud to claim.
His Mariana wine is concrete fermented and aged. It is at once fruity and savory, sweet and salty. The wine is dry as a bone and has a zingy acidity that will refresh no matter how hot the weather is. The red Mariana is also fermented in a concrete tank, then aged nine months in neutral oak.
The Amphora wines, one white, one red, are elegant and have a mineral streak a mile wide.
The Grande Rocims, again in red and white, are only produced in exceptional vintages. The white gets a year's aging in Austrian oak, the bold and unique red is made from Alicante Bouschet grapes which were planted in 1961.
The star of the tasting was the Vinha da Micaela. It is an astounding wine, rich and decadent. I got the distinct sense of chocolate in my sip.
I will be writing more about the wines of Rocim in the coming weeks. Watch this space.
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