Penelope MCC

Grouper with ginger, yuzu or lemon. Baba ganoush or hummus. Crudités. Ripe camembert.

This is perhaps the only Champagne-method wine made from the famous Douro Valley grape, Touriga Franca. We pick the vines early to retain the lively natural acidity which will keep the eventual wine fresh for decades.

After a few months’ maturation in barrel, the wine is transferred to their bottles for the secondary fermentation, where the CO2 bubbles are entrapped into the wine in the traditional Champagne method.

After traditional whole-bunch basket-pressing, we allow the wine to ferment in old barrels. This allows us to build creamy mouthfeel without imparting any wood flavour to the wine.

The focus is beautiful in its simplicity – to craft unique, intriguing, and unusually delicious wine from a small, distinct corner of the universe. We want to make wine that is enjoyable in youth, but capable of being enjoyed for many decades to come. It begins with understanding and loving our land, being sensitive to the long-term needs of our vines, and treating our grapes with the utmost respect and care in the Estate winery.