Few grape varieties have travelled as extensively as malvasía. It is found in Italy, the Canary Islands, Madeira, Greece… Yet, if there is one truly unique expression, it is the one that survives —almost in secret— amidst the sands of Colares, a tiny Portuguese appellation nestled between the dunes and the Atlantic Ocean.
Here, malvasía de Colares is unlike any other. Shaped by the sea breeze, the saltiness, and the sandy soil that protects it from phylloxera, this grape produces wines with a tension and salinity that defy the clichés of soft, aromatic whites.
When brothers Nuno and Pedro Ramilo, the fourth generation of winemakers, took over the family project and were determined to enhance the difficult, they saw in malvasía not just a grape, but an open door to a language of its own, rich with nuances, history, and character.
Made with malvasía de Colares, this indigenous variety that thrives in sandy soils mere metres from the Atlantic, Ramilo Colares Malvasía is born from organic vineyards and ancestral practices that impart identity and authenticity. The grapes are hand-harvested at dawn to preserve the fruit's temperature. Some are pressed directly while others are foot-trodden in traditional stone lagares, where they remain in contact with the skins. Everything ferments spontaneously, without added yeasts. Finally, the wine rests for 18 months in French oak barrels, refining its personality.
The result is an Atlantic white wine, vibrant, light yet with depth. Ramilo Colares Malvasía not only revives a grape, it revives a history, a way of crafting… and a way of experiencing wine.