Dão Alvaro Castro 2017

Grape variety

Touriga Nacional, Alfrocheiro Preto

Drinking window

2020-2025

Alc.

13,00%

Vinification

Spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel vats and partial destemming at controlled temperature, long maceration to remove bitter substances.

Ripening

Aged for 12 months in 225 and 400 litre used French oak barrels.

Light-bodied

Full-bodied

Straightforward

Complex

Alvaro Casto perfectly embodies the essence of The Portugal Collection. At the end of 2018, Alvaro Casto will be harvesting his 30th vintage as an independent winegrower. We have been following him since 2003 and consider him to be one of Portugal's key winemakers, a player in the qualitative renaissance of Portuguese wines, if only because he has, almost single-handedly, put the Dão region back on the map. He has been assisted by his daughter Maria for several years. Their elegant wines make the region shine like in the good old days. His vineyards are located in the Dao region, on a granite terroir on a mountain plateau at an altitude of 450m. 

Alvaro's more accessible vintages are marketed under the label of Quinta de Saes, while it bottles distinguished wines for laying down under the name Quinta da Pelleda.

The nose develops intense and fine aromas of ripe red fruits, spices (pepper), toast, with at the same time very elegant floral notes. On the palate we find pleasant and fruity notes (black cherry and wild strawberry), chocolate, as well as vegetal notes of laurel and eucalyptus. The palate is smooth, intense and mineral with a silky delicacy on ripe, long and attractive tannins.