Adega de Penalva BICAL

This wine is produced from a variety called Bical, or “Dirtied by Flies” (Borrado das Moscas – the nickname comes from the tiny brown spots that appear on the ripe grapes), and it’s especially present in the Beiras region.
As it is a very early ripening variety, the grapes conserve a fair amount of acidity, producing remarkably smooth, fragrant, and well-structured wines. It’s one of the first things you feel when taking the glass up to your nose. At that moment, aromas of peach and apricot spread out over your senses, sometimes accompanied by whisps reminiscent of tropical fruits.
This wine is produced in the Adega Cooperativa de Penalva do Castelo, founded in 1970. It’s a project that allows more than 1000 independent grape producers spread out over 1500 hectares of land to produce wine in favourable conditions. They’re traditional Dão region wines produced with recent technology and enormous dedication. It’s one of the Dão region references and is located 25 km from Viseu and 70 km from Serra da Estrela.
Virgílio Loureiro, an oenologist, academic, and one of the most respected voices in the industry, has collaborated with the Adega for approximately ten years. He has no qualms in stating that, given the natural conditions with which the Dão region was blessed, it can be considered the best wine region in Portugal.
But he goes further – “I’m fascinated by Bical and its finesse”, something you can verify right now after you uncork the bottle in front of you.
The wine presents with a citric yellow colour, and when you smell it, all you’ll notice is a slight, enigmatic aroma with no stand-outs. But, now, when you taste it… that’s a whole different story! It’s fresh and has the perfect amount of sweetness.
It’ll store for approximately five years in its bottle. If you can wait that long to taste it, we’ll have you know that, with ageing, the best specimens gain gentle petroleum notes, not very far off the characteristic sensations of the Riesling variety.
The bottle we opened was fantastic.
Tell us about what you decided to do with yours.

Cheers!