Description
Wine Details – João Tavares de Piña Atinado Encruzado
The Encruzado comes from a tiny 1-hectare vineyard sitting at 550 meters, with southern exposure and low yields that keep the fruit focused and fresh. The soils are a mix of classic Dão granite and rare, ancient marine shale formed over 500 million years ago, adding depth and minerality. The young vines are farmed with a strong natural mindset—no herbicides or pesticides, no tilling, and permanent cover crops. Chamomile, clover, wild grasses, and lavender grow between the rows to protect the vines naturally, while surrounding forests bring real biodiversity to the site. Not certified organic, but fully sustainable, low-impact, and powered by solar energy—this is thoughtful farming with a clear sense of place.
Aging/ Vinification: The grapes are hand-sorted in the vineyard and again on the sorting table before being fully destemmed. Fermentation happens naturally with wild yeasts after a short 48-hour skin contact, in large 1,250L and 1,800L chestnut casks, with no temperature control and a slow, spontaneous fermentation that runs about 15 days until completely dry. The wine then stays on its primary lees for 8 to 9 months in the same chestnut casks, undergoing spontaneous malolactic fermentation and gaining texture without any lees stirring. It’s bottled unfiltered, keeping the wine pure and true to its origin.
Alcohol Grade: 12%
Size: 750 ml
The Producer: João Tavares de Piña
João Tavares de Pina is a true original in Portugal’s Dão region — a grower who isn’t interested in trends, just making wines that speak of place and passion. He farms his family’s historic estate, Quinta da Boavista, on high granite-rich hills in Penalva do Castelo, where cool mountain air and well-drained soils help produce wines with minerality and freshness. Rather than follow the easy road, João has spent years reviving forgotten local grape varieties and nurturing biodiversity in the vineyards, letting chamomile, clover, lavender and wild herbs flourish alongside the vines as part of a natural ecosystem.
His approach in both vineyard and cellar is as honest as it gets: organic and sustainable practices with no shortcuts, spontaneous fermentations with native yeasts, minimal sulfur, and wines that aren’t released until he feels they’re ready. João himself has said he only needs grapes, water and a touch of sulfur at bottling — and that ethos shows in wines that feel alive, expressive, and rooted in Dão’s rugged terroir.
