Thirty years ago, when Ole Martin Siem settled in the Alentejo coast, he was not being impulsive. He had travelled several continents, trading fruit, until he found here, far from the fiords of his homeland, the perfect place to fulfil the dream of making the wines that he loved.
This is a different Alentejo. In the Zambujeira do Mar area, the magic combination between soil and climate inspired Ole to seek in the dialogue between earth and sea breeze all the freshness and concentration that make his creations unique.
The moment Alentejo receives the ocean’s effect, nature is touched by tenderness and the grapes mature in a slow and balanced way. The cool winters, the mild summers, the inevitable presence of the wind result in wines filled with character, where elegance overcomes robustness. Those qualities are stressed by the low productivity of the soil, entailing ideal concentrations of organic acids, sugar and phenolic compounds.
A bunch of vine varieties multiply the virtues of this ecosystem. Ole Siem has carefully selected them, combining a careful bouquet of national varieties to the universal reputation of French vine varieties. The secret portfolio that rises from this alchemy has impressed the connoisseurs.
The Colheitas, white and red, are a remarkable business card. The first shows a lively and refreshing acidity, a slightly vegetable character that comes from the unique blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Alvarinho. The red stands out by the ripe red fruit aroma; tannins soften in in barrel, with Atlantic acidity that result in a very pleasant tasting of a round, elegant, persistent wine, the outcome of an amazing reunion between Syrah Aragonês and Touriga Nacional.
Two adventurous executions follow, both of them widely praised by the oenophiles. The Vicentino Sauvignon Blanc, intense, aromatic, with hints of tropical fruits balanced by an acidulous freshness is, most likely, the most notorious wine of the house. The Vicentino Rosé Touriga Nacional & Aragonês, a pale pink blend, irresistible and defying, combines its unique acidity with a round texture acquired in the barrels where part of the fermentation takes place, standing out by its peculiar elegance in a symbiosis of hints of red fruits with floral touch.
The Reserva Tinto, a magnificent declination of Touriga Nacional, has kept all the aromatic elegance of the vine variety, sophisticated by spices derived from stage in French oak barrel, producing full mouth, involving tasting, with soft tannins balanced by an acidity that provides remarkable elegance.
Little by little, Ole Martin Siem’s young and refined brand has been conquering a reputation that goes beyond the small core of great connoisseurs. Let us try to savor it while it still is reachable, without the constraints of celebrity.
