It’s here, in this special place, that one tells the story of a wine, which has its origin on the first day after each harvest, at the beginning of that brown and reddish autumn. A story that begins on the first
day after each harvest, at the onset of an autumn dressed in brown and reddish
tones. From that day until the day a bottle is opened, several autumns have
passed by. Children were born, grandchildren were born. Personalities, tastes
and desires have thrived and were shaped. We got older. We became more
experienced. This is also true for the wine. The time marks the wine, as it
marks us, improving it, improving us. From Paço dos Cunhas only come to light
wines and spirits that the time helped to improve.
It is from this patient waiting that Vinha do
Contador is born.
We knew from day one that it could not be otherwise, nor could it be elsewhere.
It is so special, so unique, that it would have to be in Paço dos Cunhas that
we would come to this outcome. We've been improving, year after year, on the
fieldwork, on the vineyard, cellar and team work, looking for the most unique
of all our wines. We didn't want to make one more wine. We wanted to make Dão.
The Dão Wine, as all describe it, had to be born there, where nature was most
generous.
Vinha do Contador (Contador Vineyard), with all the grape varieties planted there, is a good example of the heritage from nature. And then there is Time, the intangible heritage that makes everything get better and better. Time passes by, we do not notice it and we do not know its real value. Time is long enough. Time passes, but it does not move too quickly or too slowly. Time moves minute after minute, hour after hour, day after day, and year after year. The four seasons are a seal left by the time as it passes by. It is at the end of each vineyard cycle that the wine is born and, therefore, it is from autumn to autumn that we tell the time. At Paço dos Cunhas there is no rush. This is the time that a bottle of Vinha do Contador has to wait. While we are waiting for a wine to get ready, we start preparing the following. We cultivate an organic vineyard, and this compels us to take better care of it, to look after it, to protect its plants. We hope that the mountains will help the vineyard, protecting it from the wind, and giving it only the necessary number of sunshine hours, no more, no less, hours of the sun that rises behind Serra da Estrela and sets beyond Serra do Caramulo.
Then, we should feel responsible, and, if possible, make what we have even better. The History of Paço dos Cunhas is, in itself, an example of how giving Nature can be. We have had the privileged of taking care of that gift. That is what we did, over ten years ago, when we decided to revive Paço dos Cunhas. We kept on improving the material heritage of this place, recovered the vines and gave them life. With determination, we decided to promote and keep this heritage, giving it shape through the wines that we created, making them special, unique and recognized inside as well as outside our borders. With criteria, harvest after harvest, we selected, with great care, the wines that bear the name of Paço dos Cunhas Vinha do Contador. We only present wines that transmit the philosophy from Paço dos Cunhas. Special and unique wines that respect the terroir and stand out due to their characteristic details and the precision of the wine making and viticulture of those that work on them from vineyard to bottle, in their long journey.
