Folias de Baco Uivo Moscatel Galego 2022

The Land

Most people picture the Douro as terraced schist walls dropping into a baking river gorge. Folias de Baco sits somewhere else: the high plateau above Alijó in the Cima Corgo, where Tiago Sampaio's vineyards range from 500 to 700 meters. Up here the soils mix schist with granite, the nights run cool, and the season stretches longer than it does down by the river at Pinhão. That altitude is the whole point for Moscatel Galego, the small-berried Muscat known elsewhere as Muscat à Petits Grains. At low elevation it turns heavy and sweet, which is why the Douro has mostly used it for fortified Moscatel. On the plateau it keeps its acidity and its perfume at the same time and makes a dry white wine from the Douro that stays light.

The Wine

The Uivo Moscatel Galego 2022 is 100% Moscatel Galego, hand-harvested, pressed directly off the skins as whole clusters and fermented in stainless steel at controlled temperatures. It then rests six months on its fine lees in cement tank, which rounds out the texture without adding any wood flavor, and it finishes at 11.5% alcohol. 2022 was one of the hardest seasons the Douro has seen, with roughly 70% less rain than normal from November through August, Portugal's hottest July since 1931, and the earliest harvest on record. Rose petal, lychee, lemon balm, lemongrass and fresh ginger on the nose, then a lean, dry, mineral palate of grapefruit and tropical fruit, closing with a flick of peppermint. A Muscat that smells sweet and drinks dry.

The People

Tiago Sampaio grew up in Porto but chose farming early, entering agricultural school at 13 and going on to study agricultural engineering at the university in Vila Real. From 2001 to 2003 he did doctoral research at Oregon State University on rootstock physiology. In 2007 he returned to the family vineyards around Alijó, planted by his grandparents, and founded Folias de Baco, "the follies of Bacchus." The vines are farmed organically, with cover crops of legumes and barley and kaolin clay sprayed to shield the fruit from sun and pests. The wines go out under the Uivo label, Portuguese for "howl," and his low-alcohol, minimal-intervention approach has made Uivo a reference point for natural wine from Portugal.

Food Pairing

Aromatic, dry and low in alcohol, this Moscatel from the Douro wants food with spice and fragrance. Thai green papaya salad with lime, fish sauce, chili and crushed peanuts lets the lychee and ginger in the wine meet the heat head-on while the acidity matches the lime. Steamed mussels in coconut milk with lemongrass and cilantro play the same aromatic game. Grilled halloumi drizzled with honey, mint and lemon zest works on salt and perfume. And prosciutto draped over ripe cantaloupe is the classic Muscat move, sweet fruit against cured salt. This is the bottle for a warm evening on the patio when dinner is takeout from the Thai place down the street.