The new Série Ímpar is a Curtimenta white
Sogrape’s Série Ímpar is already composed by several chapters: two editions of Sercialinho – a Bairrada white shining the spotlight on one of Portugal’s most rare varieties, Retorto – sourced from old vineyards at Serra de São Mamede, in Portalegre, and Solitário – a bold red born in Bucelas, a region renowned for its white wines. Now, the 4th chapter comes to us by the hand of Luís Sottomayor, premiering in this series that was born out of a challenged issued by Fernando da Cunha Guedes to Sogrape’s winemaking teams in Portugal. The premise was always to allow spreading the wings of imagination and creativity, as well as to create something different in the wonderful world of wine — and every single winemaker accomplished it.
Série Ímpar Curtimenta showcases characteristics which happen to overlap with number 3. This is a white sourced from three Sogrape estates in the Douro, each located in one of the three sub-regions. With more to unveil, this wine is a batch comprised by three vintages, and three varieties – Alvarinho, Arinto and Viosinho – fermented separately in three oak barrels.
Leaving numbers aside and focusing on history, Luís Sottomayor and its Douro winemaking team found inspiration in a set of parcels at a height of 450m and 650m, planted with the varieties featured in this new wine, with a huge potential for the curtimenta technique. Consisting in leaving the liquid and solid parts in contact for a period of time, this pellicular maceration and fermentation process is common in red wines. When used in white wines, it originates full-bodied and structured wines, influenced by the skins’ characteristics.
Each cask held the vinification of a variety sourced from a different estate: Viosinho from Quinta do Cavernelho, in Baixo-Corgo; Arinto from Quinta do Sairrão, in Cima-Corgo; and Alvarinho from Quinta do Castanheiro, in the Upper Superior. The vintages included in the batch are 2017, 2018 and 2019, having aged between 9 and 33 months in used French oak casks (500L).
“The introduction of a new Série Ímpar is always experienced with the excitement to know what is coming, as well as the surprise effect now of tasting the new creation. It is remarkable to find there are no boundaries to imagination, and that our winemakers are able to use what nature has to offer to produce fantastic, innovative, and high quality wines”, says Fernando da Cunha Guedes, President of Sogrape.
To Luís Sottomayor, “creating a wine like the Série Ímpar Curtimenta is an opportunity to showcase, once again, the excellence of the Douro region”. As to what makes it different, the winemaker comments: “The quality and the fact that this is a wine resulting from three different harvests are what provide it with complexity and harmony.”
The new Série Ímpar is already available on the market in wine stores and top restaurants. Along with this launching also comes a new website, where it is now possible to better learn about the respective histories and winemakers of the already rolled out Série Ímpar wines: serieimpar.com/.
