Skin contact Moscatel from Estremoz, Évora, Alentejo, Portugal; medium bodied and dry with notes of musk melon, apricot nectar, yellow apple, orange rind, honeysuckle, leather, tea, and spice, with medium plus acidity, a spritzy texture, dry tannins, and lingering cream on the finish. Organic

Whole clusters crushed, fermented, and macerated in lugar for one week. After fermentation, the grapes are gently pressed and only the tear must (first pressing) is sent to smaller stainless steel tanks to complete vinification. "Curmienta" translates to "tanned" and refers to the maceration stage of any wine, but is colloquially used as an equivilent to "orange wine." Limestone soil at 335m; 2600 bottles produced.

From the importer, Carnelia:

Estremoz is a 13th-century walled city in the eastern Évora subregion of hot and dry Alentejo. Marble deposits fill the rolling hills surrounding the city. Rich red limestone soil over marble bedrock. Alentejo is south of the Tejo river which bisects the country and takes up much of Portugual's southern half.

Ciclo is the joint project of Hugo Campos, Joachim Roque, Ana Paulino, and Miguel Nunes. A group of friends who have worked in various facets of the wine industry for years, they used the quiet of 2020 quarantine to materilaize a longtime dream. They secured a 1.5 hectare vineyard in the Estremoz area, then another tiny granitic plot at slightly higher altitude, and began to make small quantities of low-intervention, experimental cuvées - looking for the essence of Alentejo in ancestral methods and native grapes.