Winemaker Notes
This wine is made from handpicked grapes from a single parcel planted in the 1980s on clay-limestone in the renowned valley of Óis do Bairro. It is then slowly whole-cluster pressed and spontaneously fermented in neutral 500L pipas in a cold subterranean cellar. There is no batonnage and it is raised 8 months in pipas. Unfined and unfiltered.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The super austere and mineral white 2023 Nossa Calcário Bical was produced with grapes from the village of Ois do Barro, a classical zone for whites in Bairrada, where they are located. This is not about the fruit but about the soil. It has the profile of an austere white from Bairrada that I love so much, with a medium-bodied palate, purity and precision, balanced, with pungent flavors. 2023 saw a good crop, and it combined quantity and quality.
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James Suckling
A pure and crisp bical with a timid nose of fennel, pears and touches of oyster shells and limes. This is really minerally and agile, with incisive acidity and subtle stone fruit character in the finish. Balanced and graceful. This comes from various vineyards planted, as its name suggests, in calcareous soils in the village of Óis do Bairro. Fermented and aged in 500- and 2,000-liter foudres. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter and Ecocert certification.
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Vinous
The 2023 Bairada Branco Nossa Calcario has a razor-sharp, almost electrifying bouquet—tangibly driven by its limestone terroir—augmented by hints of white peach and fresh pear. The palate is built around a killer line of acidity and is suffused with such sapidity that taking another sip is irresistible. There is just a touch of lemongrass that lingers on the finish. Just a fabulous wine.
There are hundreds of white grape varieties grown throughout the world. Some are indigenous specialties capable of producing excellent single varietal wines. Each has its own distinct viticultural characteristics, as well as aroma and flavor profiles.