Quinta de Saes Estagio Prolongado 2021
Region: Dão
Producer: Quinta de Saes - da Pellada
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.
Saes is Alvaro Castro's base wine, but he immediately raises the standard for his premium vintages. This Dão offers a demonstration of personality quite rare in its price range.
The Estagio Prolongado is the fantastic middle class of Alvaro Castro's assortment. The backbone of this wine is made up of 50-year-old plots of land, planted according to the traditional method of "co-planting".
| Volume | 75.0 cl. |
| Grape Variety | Touriga Nacional, Alfrocheiro Preto, Jaen, Tinta Roriz |
| Drinking window | 2023-2031 |
| Alc. | 13.0% |
| Vinification | After destemming, the grapes undergo a long maceration in open stainless steel vats. Fermentation also takes place in stainless steel vats. Towards the end of fermentation, the wine is transferred to wooden barrels. |
| Ripening | Depending on the year, the wine is aged between 12 and 18 months in used barrels. |
Waar serveer je ’m bij?
The name is the method: extended ageing, at least eighteen months in old casks. Old wood no longer gives off flavour but lets the wine breathe slowly, so the tannin is already round by the time the bottle is opened. This is Alvaro Castro's mid-range, ready to drink immediately and giving up nothing on length.
Roast pork with apple
Pollo al ajillo, plenty of garlic and white wine
Serveren op 15–16 °C
Drink: 2025–2031
“The 2021 Quinta de Saes Estagio Prolongado is a blend of 70% field blend from old vines and 10% each Touriga Nacional, Jaen and Alfrocheiro. It fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in used 400-liter barrels for 18 months. It is very good, with definition and purity, floral and aromatic, attractive, clean and open. It has 13.3% alcohol, a balanced mouthfeel with fine tannins and a bone-dry finish. It was bottled in November 2024.”
Alvaro Castro ruilde Lissabon en een diploma burgerlijk ingenieur in voor Pinhanços, aan de voet van de Serra da Estrela, en zette haast in zijn eentje de Dão weer op de kaart. Op Quinta de Saes en Quinta da Pellada maakt hij wijnen met fijne tannines, een frisse kern en veel lengte. Wij volgen hem sinds 2003.
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