Sabor(z)inho

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A decade after launching Fitapreta Vinhos in Alentejo, António Maçanita and two partners founded the Azores Wine Company on Pico, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Their work recovering the indigenous Terrantez do Pico grape, along with António’s family roots on the islands, led to a revival that gained international attention, including top Wine Spectator praise in 2016. Today they farm 100 hectares of low yielding, stone walled vineyards on Pico and source fruit from another 30 hectares across the archipelago, from sea level to 500 meters in altitude, with vines up to 80 years old. In this harsh volcanic landscape, where 500 year old currais protect the vines from fierce Atlantic winds, António says “these singular, saline wines are born, or should we say, erupt.” Making wine here remains a “battle between the sea and the mountain,” and only a few growers have ever achieved ripeness in red grapes. Sabor(z)inho embodies that pioneering spirit. By rescuing Saborinho, a nearly extinct Azorean red variety, António set out to prove that even in Pico’s windswept, salt soaked vineyards, elegance and depth are possible. This wine stands as rare proof that red grapes can ripen in such extreme conditions and still carry the unmistakable volcanic and maritime character that defines the Azores.

WHAT MAKES THIS WINE UNIQUE?

Sabor(z)inho is made from Saborinho, one of the Azores’ nearly vanished red grape varieties, historically known as Tinta Negra or Molar de Colares. This limited release of only 1,518 bottles tests the potential of a grape that almost disappeared from island vineyards. The vines grow in volcanic rock cracks at the foothills of the mountain, so close to the ocean that locals say you can hear “the crabs singing.” Protected by traditional stone currais from intense Atlantic winds, this extreme maritime environment produces a light colored yet deeply complex red marked by salinity, iodine, earth, and unmistakable island character.

RATING HISTORY:

2023 92WA; 2019 91WA

GRAPE:

100% Saborinho, a rare, historic Azorean red grape, revived in micro scale to showcase its naturally fresh, light colored, saline, and earthy profile.

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS:

A versatile red suited for dishes that combine elegance and acidity. Excellent with complex fish preparations or refined meat dishes where iodine, earth, truffle, or saline notes are present.

VINIFICATION AND AGING:

Grapes from São Miguel and Pico are hand picked and sorted. Fermentation is spontaneous with 30 percent whole bunch and 30 days of skin contact. The wine ages six months in neutral barrels followed by two years in bottle.

PRODUCTION:

1,500 bottles

LOCATION, SOIL, CLIMATE:

Vines are planted in solid lava stone formed 500 to 2,000 years ago at the foothills of Pico’s volcanic mountain. The proximity to the ocean and the use of currais for protection create a challenging, high stress environment that shapes the wine’s pronounced salinity and earthy depth.

TASTING NOTES:

Light open color with a grenadine hue. Intense aromatic character with acidic strawberry, earth, truffle, iodine, and sea breeze. Medium bodied with textured palate, persistent acidity, and repeating iodine and earthy tones.

ALCOHOL CONTENT:

11%

UPC CODE:

5600869590183