This signature white wine is classic Bucelas, native home of Arinto, perhaps Portugal's greatest white wine variety. Here on the calcareous marl, loam and limestone soils locals call ‘caeiras’, Arinto absorbs the maritime influence of the nearby Atlantic, producing age-worthy wines of great vitality and savory mineral depths.

Third-generation winemaker António Pinto farms eight hectares of old-vine Arinto, Sercial and Rabo de Ovelha organically. Fermented and aged on its fine lees in stainless steel tank, the resulting wine—much of which is served at the family restaurant, adjacent the vineyards—confirms Bucelas’ historic reputation, with notes of tart calamansi orange, grilled apricot and roasted nuts. Its lively acidity and winning minerality are lent complexity by a subtle oxidative note, making it a delicious foil to all manner of fish and seafood, fried chicken or dry-rubbed pork, as well as the rabbit for which the restaurant is renowned. It can be enjoyed through 2030.

keeps until 2030
(50-59ºF)

keeps 2-3 days
(55-59ºF)

5-6 oz. pour
(48-55ºF)

About Chão do Prado

Base map data ©2017 Google, Inst. Geogr. Nacional

The Pinto Paneiro family have occupied their diminutive farmhouse quinta at the northern edge of the northern edge of the Bucelas appellation for more than 150 years. Descendents of João Camillo Alves, father of modern-day Bucelas, they have been producing the wine which lends Chão do Prado its name since 1991. Now poised on their fourth generation, father and son farm eight hectares organically, without irrigation. The majority are planted to Arinto, with the remaining vines devoted to the Sercial (Esgana Cão) and Rabo de Ovelha that can make up a small percentage of their vinho branco, depending on the vintage. The family also produce a charming sparkling wine, served only at their restaurant. Full details

About Bucelas DOC

The Bucelas DOC is Portugal's sole 'white wine-only' appellation and is, along with Colares and Carcavelos, one of its smallest, with just 138 hectares under vine. Located twenty kilometers north of Lisbon, within sight of the Tejo River as it opens out to the Atlantic, it is regarded as the native home of Arinto, perhaps Portugal's greatest white wine variety. Its location is providential: While proximity to the Atlantic and its cooling effect lend a distinct maritime influence, it is also sheltered from its more volatile influences by the Serra de Montejunto hills which run north from Lisbon, resulting in a drier and more consistent growing season marked by warm days and cool nights. Its best vineyards are marked by 'caeiras', the calcareous clay-, loam- and crystalline limestone marl soils where marine fossils are not uncommon.

Renowned for centuries, Bucelas wine was referenced by Shakespeare as 'Charneco' in Henry VI and was a favorite of the Duke of Wellington, when it was known to the English Court as 'Portuguese hock' for its perceived similarities to Riesling. Its modern history begins with João Camillo Alves, whose estate dominated the region in the late 19th century and whose influence is still felt in the appellation today. First demarcated in 1911, Bucelas DOC wines are made principally with Arinto, but can incorporate Sercial (Esgana Cão) and Rabo de Ovelha in quantities not to exceed 25%. (Sparkling and late-harvest wines can be produced from this cepage as well.) Its dry wine expressions can be reminiscent of those of the Loire Valley, or Chablis, and under the right conditions are capable of great development in bottle.