Handford Wines

Sandra Tavares da Silva and husband Jorge Borges already had pretty impressive CVs when they embarked on Pintas, their own project, in the Pinhão Valley in 2001. Sandra is winemaker at Vale Dona Maria and at her parents’ estate Quinta de Chocapalha in Estramadura and Jorge, formerly of Niepoort, works on a number of projects in the Douro. Their prodigious talent and enthusiasm, combined with an eye for spotting vineyard potential, has really paid off.

The Wine

Pintas is an extraordinary wine from seventy-five year old vines covering up to thirty varieties. It is deeply coloured - a black-plum velvet, opaque to a fine fuschia rim. The nose is dark and sultry initially, brooding with just hints of the sweet, ripe fruit which explodes on the palate. Expressive, generous and succulent, this has that rare ability to balance real power with elegance through to a sustained, mineral finish.

Single Bottle: £45.00

In a case of 12: £42.75