ADEGA MAYOR OPENS UP THE SENSES AND PRESENTS TO THE MARKET THE TWO LATEST VINTAGES FROM TWO OF ITS BRAND ICONS, ADEGA MAYOR RESERVA DO COMENDADOR AND ADEGA MAYOR GRANDE RESERVA PAI CHÃO. FOR THE FOURTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR, THEY ARE ALSO RELEASING THE ADEGA MAYOR ESPUMANTE BRUTO, A SPARKLING WINE OF EXCELLENCE TO CELEBRATE THE FESTIVE SEASON WITH DUE POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE.
With the grapes all harvested, a period of great significance to all Portuguese winemakers, and with Adega Mayor no exception to this rule, now does come the time to open up the senses to appreciating the new wines. These are the “litmus tests” for the quality of the grapes, the nobility of the varieties, the good characteristics of both the wines and their means of harvesting. The new vintages of the prestigious Adega Mayor Reserva do Comendador and Adega Mayor Grande Reserva Pai Chão and as well as the Adega Mayor Espumante Bruto tell their own stories. Grown on the Alentejan plain in Campo Maior and following an ageing period to endow their unique complexities, they emerge with their elegant and harmonious structures.
The manual harvesting practices and techniques have been passed down through generations and the winemaking projects of the Nabeiro Group maintains that tradition of manual harvesting very much alive across all of the Herdade das Argamassas estate. This tradition reflects in both the grapes harvested and the fine qualities of the wines resulting.
Inaugurated in 2007, Adega Mayor is where the art of wine interweaves with that of the architect Siza Vieira. With its vines located on the estates of Herdade das Argamassas and Herdade da Godinha, in Campo Maior, in the Alentejo, Adega Mayor became, from the very outset, a benchmark reference in Portuguese wine tourism for constructing the first purpose-built wine cellar in the country.
To provide the opportunity to discover this cellar and its wines, the group regularly hosts wine tourism programs that also provide visitors with insights into Alentejan culture, manual winemaking secrets and techniques and as well as the entire wine transformation and production process alongside visiting the cellar and participating in a wine workshop in Campo Maior.
Adega Mayor, Opening the Senses
For Adega Mayor, the year of 2017 was synonymous with change and commemoration. Last June, Adega Mayor celebrated its first decade and launched a new visual identity. In order to highlight this new cycle, the brand opened the “Untitled, by Adega Mayor” Pop-Up for five weeks in the Chiado district of Lisbon where consumers and clients, through an original gastronomic experience, were able to engage with the ways in which wine opens the senses. The chef Nuno Bergonse, inspired by the wines of Adega Mayor, created different dishes that brought life to the canvases of “Untitled, by Adega Mayor” that replaced the traditional tables here.
With a global vision and positioning, the new brand architecture and its graphic universe are inspired on different artistic expressions under the auspices of the signature slogan of “Open the senses”. The new vintages now released are also a first reflection of this change in paradigm.
“For the last decade, our progress has come through taking firm strides, proximity relationships with our clients, and always with our eyes firmly set on the world as our horizon. Our new image stems from profound reflection at Adega Mayor, and affirms that which renders us unique. We believe that this change shall make the brand more global, consistent and authentic”, highlighted Rita Nabeiro, CEO of Adega Mayor.
Adega Mayor Reserva do Comendador 2014
With an intense aroma featuring notes of black cherry and wild berries, this red wine arises out of a blend of the Alicante Bouschet (60%), Syrah (30%) and Touriga Nacional (10%) varieties.
Full bodied to the taste, with mature tannins, a long and persistent aftertaste.
Elegant and refined company for accompanying a selection of strong cheeses and roast meat dishes.
Adega Mayor Reserva do Comendador 2016
A white wine composed out of the varieties of Antão Vaz (70%), Verdelho (20%) and Viognier (10%). With a citrus colour, the wine gives off an intense aroma with hints of ripe fruit (pear, peach), very well balanced by barrel induced notes of vanilla.
With a good taste structure, and a fine, fresh and mineral, equilibrium with a long aftertaste, this lively and structured white enjoys a strong gastronomic profile.
This is an excellent accompaniment to rich and intense fish dishes or white meat dishes preferably incorporating touches of exoticism.
Adega Mayor Grande Reserva Pai Chão 2014
A wine that writes with all of the senses. When the land gets touched by hands and watered with feeling thus does a Pai Chão story get born, which only ever happens when nature, man and art find each other. A distinctive wine and designed out of the Alicante Bouschet (80%) and Touriga Nacional (20%) varieties to ensure a ruby red colour. With a a good level of aromatic complexity, this wine display notes of spices and black fruits (blackberries, myrtle). Full-bodied to the taste, well-structured and with mature tannins eliciting an elegant finish with a good aftertaste. The Pai Chão is a fine complement to any intense and well-flavoured gastronomy, in particular oven roasted red meats or game dishes.
Adega Mayor Espumante Bruto (colheita 2016)
A wine that results from a combination of the Verdelho (60%) and Arinto (40%) varieties. Produced by the classical method, this sparkling wine is citrus in colour with a fresh and fruit aroma enveloping nuances of dried fruits. The aftertaste is persistent, silky and with a distinctive acidity that endows a pleasant freshness of taste. Its vivacity combines to perfection with Asian gastronomy, food with a clear touch of spice, and makes a fine complement to sushi.
