Bojo do Luar

(Vinho Verde, Portugal)

The Bojo do Luar project came to life during a trip Savio made to the Vinho Verde region. Here he met Fernando Paiva, a biodynamic producer who has been experimenting with adding ground chestnut flowers to the grapes and must before fermentation began. Meanwhile he’s halted using SO2 altogether since 2017.

Savio was undeterred and saw this as an opportunity: to use the traditional  autochthonous varietals of Northern Portugal, with natural high levels of acidity, and apply his knowledge and experience of many decades working with French producers. Together with two local young men, with experience and knowledge of regional viticulture, who were open to experiment new methods in the vineyard and cellar, the Bojo do Luar project started to take shape. The soils started to be fertilized with self-made organic compost, blended with chicken and cow’s manure. In the middle of the rows, a variety of beneficial herbs, recommended by Mr. Paiva, were sewn to further enrich the soils at the beginning of springtime and autumn. To manage plagues, only SO2 and cooper were sprayed.

Using a non-intervention approach in the cellar, which Savio likes to call: “monastic winemaking”, the Bojo do Luar wines started to take shape. The region has a mostly cool temperate climate throughout Spring, then very warm days, and cool nights until the harvest at the end of September. Five red grape varietals and five whites were chosen.

The parcels are located near the Tâmega river, in the foothills of the Serra do Marão mountain range, in the southeastern corner of the Vinho Verde region, with deep granitic soils and south-south-western exposure.

Upon arriving at the cellar, each grape varietal is destemmed and moved with a small percentage of whole cluster to large century-old “talhas” (amphoras), acquired from an old inactive winery in the Serra de São Mamede region bordering Spain to the East.

As stabilizer, 500g of ground chestnut-flower is added per each ton of grape before the fermentation starts naturally and a gentle punch-down is done twice a day to keep the cap soaked.

The time the wine remains with pellicular maceration in the amphoras, once the fermentation is finished, varies according to grape varietal and vintage profile.

There is a minimal intervention throughout the entire process in the cellar. Once the blend for each wine was defined, 25mg/l of SO2 is added at bottling.

Pet Nat, ‘AZAL’

100% Azal

This is a rare and unique grape varietal from the southeastern Vinho Verde region in Portugal. It is comparable to Chenin (Savennières) and Petit Monseng (Jurançon).There's been very few wines produced from this grape varietal. It is hard to find and easy to fall in love with.
The grapes for this Pet Nat were fermented with skin-contact at a lower temperature, (10ºC) in large format amphoras (1000L-1500L) for four weeks. Before the fermentation ended the mass was pressed and bottled (unfiltered) with around 15mg of residual sugar to finish the fermentation in the bottle. 25ml of SO2 was added at bottling.

Pet Nat, “Luiza”

80% Espadeiro, 20% Loureiro

This Pet Nat is from 80% Espadeiro and 20% Loureiro. Both grapes sourced from Rui Paiva, nephew of Biodynamic producer Fernando Paiva. Rui has 4 hectares of mostly 20-year-old vines in the Vinho Verde area of Felgueiras. The harvest was done by three generations, Rui, his 80-year-old father and his nephew. Grapes were placed on 20kg boxes and taken to Bojo do Luar cellar, 7km away. Upon arrival, the grapes were destemmed and moved into "ta/has" (100-year-old, 1.l00L amphoras) and stumped by foot. To each amphora, 1kg of ground chestnut flowers was added and immediately mixed into the mass. The fermentation of the Espadeiro started spontaneously after three days and continued slowly for three weeks. Before it was completed, with around 18g/l of residual sugar left, the mass was pressed, blended with 20% of the Loureiro (Lou 38) and bottled, unfiltered with S02 added at bottling (30ppm).

Vinho Verde, “Tez”

50% Avesso & 50% Azal

From a small sub area of Baião, a low intervention blend of Avesso and Azal. The Avesso macerates for five months with 10% whole-cluster, while the Azal is directly pressed. Everything is done in stainless steel with half a kilo of ground chestnut flowers added at the pressing of both. Unfiltered.

Vinho Rose, ‘Luar Rosa’

80% Azal, 20% Espadeiro

This new Luar Rosa was 100% produced in “talhas” (amphoras). The two grape varietals, Azal and Espadeiro, are quite unique, rare and only found in the Vinho Verde region of Portugal .  

Vinho Tinto, “Duplo”

100 % Espadeiro

100% Espadeiro sourced from Rui Paiva, nephew of Biodynamic producer Fernando Paiva. Rui has 4 hectares of mostly 20-year-old vines in the Vinho Verde area of Felgueiras. The harvest was done by three generations, Rui, his 80-year-old father and his nephew. Grapes were placed on 20kg boxes and taken to Bojo do Luar cellar, 7km away. Upon arrival, the grapes were destemmed and moved into "ta/has" (100-year-old, 1.100L amphoras) and stumped by foot. To each amphora, 1kg of ground chestnut flowers was added and immediately mixed into the mass. The fermentation started spontaneously after four days and continued slowly for one month. The wine was kept macerating in ta/has, from the second week of October until mid­January, when it was moved to steel tanks and bottled in March, unfiltered with S02 added at bottling (30ppm).

Vinho Tinto, “Drasloup”

100 % Alvarelhão

Alvarelhão is another grape varietal from Northern Portugal with a great potential to produce elegant wines. It was sourced from a small producer in Cabeceiras de Basto, situated in the Vinho Verde sub-region of Basto. After destemming, the berries were transferred to a stainless steel “Lagar” to macerate for five days and start fermenting without temperature control. It was then pressed and transferred to 1000-liter talhas (amphoras) to finish the alcoholic fermentation and undergo the malolactic fermentation. After ten weeks, the wine was decanted into a stainless-steel tank and bottled in February.

‘Vinho Tinto’ Do Bojo Tinto (Red)

100% Bastardo

Produced from 100% Bastardo grapes sourced from Quinta do Poldrado in the Trás-os-Montes region, on the margins of the Tâmega River, near the town of Vidago. The harvest took place on September 7th, early in the morning and the grapes were packed in 25kg boxes and trucked to Bojo do Luar cellar 100km away. Upon arrival in the cellar the grapes were destemmed (100%) and transferred to 1,500 liter “talhas” (amphoras) to start fermentation and maceration. At this moment ground chestnut ‑ower was added (500g/1000 L) and mixed into the mass. The fermentation with a temperature controlled at 17º Celsius lasted for three weeks and then pressed after four weeks of maceration, to return to the “talhas” for aging until July. Bottled with the addition of 25mlg of SO2.

‘Vinho Branco’ Do Bojo Branco (White)

60% Arinto, 40% Azal

This wine was produced from a tiny 30 year old parcel of Azal and Arinto situated on a slope near the Tâmega River in Amarante, Vinho Verde region. The grapes were harvested on September 19th, destemmed (90%) and transferred to two 1.200 liter talhas (amphoras) to start fermentation and maceration. At this moment, one kilogram of ground chestnut ‑ower was added and mixed into the mass. The fermentation without temperature control, lasted for 17 days. At this point the Talha was sealed with plactic whrap ­lm. The skin-contact maceration for these two talhas lasted for nine months. The wine was pressed and bottled without the addition of SO2 in July of 2022.