Tubarão Vinhos Rosé Pét-Nat Masseira 2024

A naturally sparkling rosé from the campos de masseira of Póvoa de Varzim and Apúlia — the extraordinary dune-field vineyards of Portugal's Atlantic coast. A field blend of white and red grapes, Loureiro and Vinhão dominant, from old vines on pure sand a stone's throw from the ocean.

Made by the ancestral method, the most artisanal way of producing sparkling wine. White and red grapes are hand-picked and pressed together without added sulphites, given only a coarse filtration to remove larger particles, then bottled while still fermenting so the remaining fermentation finishes in bottle and produces the wine's natural sparkle. Fermentation is spontaneous with indigenous yeasts. New for this vintage, the wine has been disgorged for the first time, lifting some of the lees from the bottle while remaining a natural-style sparkling.

Cloudy and salmon-hued, with delicate strawberry and raspberry aromatics and a distinct saline hint from the sandy, sea-facing vineyards. On the palate the mousse is lively and the acidity soft and refreshing; fresh, dry, and unmistakably Atlantic.

Drinks beautifully at the start of a meal, with seafood and lighter meat dishes, and even alongside red-fruit or chocolate desserts.

Tubarão, founded in Póvoa de Varzim by Márcio Lopes and Ricardo Garrido, is a project built on low-intervention winemaking and on supporting the growers who still farm the region's endangered masseiras — rectangular pits dug into the coastal dunes in the 18th century by Benedictine monks of Tibães Abbey, with vines planted on the sand walls (valos) to shelter a warm, fertile centre nourished by fresh groundwater and seaweed. Now critically endangered, these fields survive largely thanks to producers like Tubarão who pay the growers to keep farming them.

Region: Vinho Verde DOC (Minho), Portugal
Grape Varieties: Field blend — Loureiro and Vinhão dominant
Soil: Sand
Alcohol: 11.5%
Sulphites: Low — average 4 mg/L; not stabilised, not filtered
Vegan friendly: Yes (uncertified)
Drinking window: now to 2026
Serving Temperature: 8°C