Carlos Raposo Vinhos Imperfeitos I 2018

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€293.80

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Carlos Raposo Imperfect Wines I 2018

The Imperfect Wine I 2018 is born from the philosophy “imperfect is perfect”: micro-batches, parcel selection, and minimal intervention to showcase origin and tension, rather than “dressing up” the wine. It is a very personal project by Carlos Raposo, with DNA learned in classic regions and a very contemporary interpretation of the great Portuguese whites.

The vintage

2018 is a year of balance and precision, ideal for whites with freshness and depth — exactly what this “I” seeks in the Dão.

Vinification

Manual selection and delicate pressing. Fermentation divided between stainless steel and used Burgundy barrels (Puligny-Montrachet). Joint aging in an old cement vat (1962), favoring texture, energy, and longevity.

Tasting Notes (producer)

With a citrusy and crystalline color, this wine, unlike the others, has a deep and complex nose. Initially with mineral aromas, reminiscent of the characteristic smoke of quarries; after breathing, fresh notes of sea air, sea breeze, and seaweed appear, combined with stone fruits such as apricot and peach. Explosive and intense on the palate, with lots of character and, due to its balanced natural acidity, it is a harmonious, fine, and complex wine. Its finish is endless, leaving a salty sensation combined with notes of gunpowder as a retronasal aroma.

Grape varieties: Esgana cão, Rabo de ovelha, Encruzado, Malvasia fina, Douradinha, Barcelo, Branda, among others.

Wine Type: White Wine
Format: 0,75L
Vintage: 2018
Producer: Carlos Raposo
Winemaker: Carlos Raposo
Country: Portugal
Region: Dão
Robert Parker: RP96
James Suckling: 96
Decanter: 97

Ex-Niepoort winemaker Carlos Raposo’s tribute to his birth region. Used Puligny-Montrachet barrels and refurbished concrete tanks signal ambition and style. Pure, penetrating and very precise, with terrific length and textural refinement (talc, sencha green tea) and a regional imprint of salinity, spice and freshness. Stunning debut from select rows of field blend vineyards between 400m-700m. Just over 2,000 bottles made.

An initially subtle nose opens up to chamomile, wet stones, oyster shell, pineapple, green apricots, waxed lemon and salted almonds. It's medium-bodied and refined with bright acidity. Focused and concentrated, yet incredibly fresh and delicate at the same time, with sleek, mineral and salty layers. Long, linear and beautiful. Aged in concrete tanks and barrels. Only 2,154 bottles made. Drink or hold.

The 2018 Vinhos Imperfeitos I was produced exclusively with white grapes from Dão, field blends from centenary vines planted with a lot of grape varieties, some almost extinct—Esgana Cão, Rabo de Ovelha, Encruzado, Malvasia Fina, Douradinha, Barcelo, Branda, etc.—from three or four plots, all harvested at the same time, put together in the press, the juice let to settle, fermented part in stainless steel and Burgundy oak barrels and then blended and matured for one year in old raw concrete vats made in 1962. The wine was rejected (three times) by the Dão appellation because it was deemed not typical, possibly because of its reductive personality, which today is subtler, with flinty notes, hints of smoke and gunpowder, etc., so it is sold as a generic wine from Portugal, not carrying the seal from the Dão appellation. It has a complexity of aromas, with pollen and white flowers, and is earthy and smoky. It has always had a very explosive palate, with marked freshness, but today, the acidity has integrated further. The wine is fine-boned and elegant, very integrated, sleek and polished. It has a moderate 12.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.2 and seems to be evolving at a slow pace. 2,154 bottles and 72 magnums produced. It was bottled in June 2019.