José De Sousa Puro Talha Red 2015

In the José de Sousa winery, some ancestral winemaking techniques are still used, the most emblematic being the use of the talha in the fermentation of grapes. The essence of winemaking in talha has changed little in over two thousand years. In this process, the red grapes, previously crushed by foot, are destemmed by hand on a ripanço table. Fermentation occurs with 30% of the stems, in talhas with an average capacity of 1,600 liters at a temperature around 28ºC, controlled by watering the talhas 4 times a day. Fermentation takes approximately 8 days, with the wine remaining in post-fermentation maceration until November. After pressing the masses, part ages in talhas for a period of around 16 months, during which an olive oil film is used to prevent oxidation. The other part ages in 500-liter brown barrels. At the same time, the rest of the stems were fermented in a "tarefa" (small talha with a capacity of 300 liters) with a little must. This product is called ripanço wine because it is the result of this ancestral technique of manual destemming. This wine is used in the final blend as "salt and pepper."