Small batch Portuguese wine from André Duque Lourenç0, the smallest producer with whom we work, who produced a mere 12,000 bottles in 2022.

The home of André’s Gardunha Sul project is in Beira Baixa, a largely unknown region in the centre of the country, on the Spanish border, with Fundão the nearest urban landmark. The valley of the Gardunha mountain has volcanic soil and a range of microclimates, with riper fruit coming from the south and more acidic fruit in the north. André farms 2.5 hectares himself, and works with four other small scale traditional local growers at different points in the valley. Blending the fruit together allows him to make wines that are delicate but powerful, and there is some muscularity to this pet nat.

Pétillant naturels are the oldest, or ancestral, method of making sparkling wine. It’s made by bottling a still-fermenting white in reinforced glass, and capturing the carbon dioxide naturally produced through alcoholic fermentation, resulting in a gentle fizz. There’s no need to add sugar and yeast to create a secondary fermentation (the method used in Proseccos and traditional method sparkling wines).

As with all true pet nats, this is unfiltered, cloudy and raw. A blend of Fernão Pires and Moscatel Graúdo, there are appealingly ripe aromas of rose petals, lemon, and peach, carried on a gentle fizz.