Quinta de Saes reserva branco 2024
Region: Dão
Producer: Quinta de Saes - da Pellada
Why we chose this wine
Alvaro Casto perfectly embodies the essence of The Portugal Collection. At the end of 2018, Alvaro Casto will carry out its 30th harvest 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 rebirth of Portuguese wines, if only for having, 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 Pellada.
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 Saes Reserva is a perfect example of the special qualities of white wines in Portugal: the nose is characterised by notes of ripe tropical fruits. The palate is elegant and softly textured with good minerality and long acidity.
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 Pellada.
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 Saes Reserva is a perfect example of the special qualities of white wines in Portugal: the nose is characterised by notes of ripe tropical fruits. The palate is elegant and softly textured with good minerality and long acidity.
| Volume | 75.0 cl. |
| Grape Variety | Malvasia, Cerceal, Encruzado |
| Drinking window | 2025-2031 |
| Alc. | 13.0% |
| Vinification | Fermentation takes place in stainless steel vats and is very slow (almost 3 months), which guarantees a better development of the aromas. |
| Ripening | The wine is aged for a short period in stainless steel vats with stirring. Bottling takes place quite early, in February or March, for maximum preservation of the primary aromas and because Alvaro Castro is convinced that this favours a long maturation in the bottle. He is supported in this conviction by the many old Dão wines that are still abundant in the region and which have traditionally been bottled early. |
Waar serveer je ’m bij?
Álvaro Castro lets this wine ferment in steel for almost three months, very slowly and cool, and then bottles it as early as February or March. Both choices serve the same end: to keep as much aroma and as much freshness as possible, without oak or ageing coming between. Malvasia, Cerceal and Encruzado give a wine that is medium-bodied but long — plenty of white peach, blossom and a chalky core. It belongs to the safest category at the table: enough acidity to cut through fat, enough weight not to disappear.
Drie gerechten die werken
Rolled fillets of sole with spinach
Poached haddock with mustard sauce
Savoury vegetable pancake with a soy dip
Poached haddock with mustard sauce
Savoury vegetable pancake with a soy dip
Vegetarisch
Pan-fried artichoke hearts with lemon and mint
Minder geschikt bij
Slow-braised red meat and heavy gravy. Roasted nuts and caramel in a dish also knock it out of balance: its strength is its freshness, not its volume.
Voor de Portugees geïnspireerde kok
Lulas recheadas à portuguesa — stuffed squid in tomato sauce
Serveren op 9–11 °C
What the critics say
Robert Parker Wine Advocate
92/ 100
Published 22-01-2026
Drink: 2025–2030
Drink: 2025–2030
“The 2024 Quinta de Saes Branco Reserva has a characterful and complex nose for its young age. It's a selection of the regular Quinta de Saes Branco—50% Encruzado and 25% each Bical (Borrado das Moscas) and Cercial—matured in used 400-liter French oak barrels for 10 months. It has notes of herbs, white flowers, fruits and spice, with a beautifully textured palate and a clean, focused and pungent finish. It was bottled in July 2024.”
— Luis Gutiérrez, Robert Parker Wine Advocate