Red wine from the Alentejo 2014

Entry-level red wine from the Alentejo

This pleasingly red wine from Alentejo region it’s not a wine to keep in the cellar. It’s a wine to be drunk now. It is not a pretentious wine, it’s silky but elegant, smooth and well balanced.

 

In the nose is aromatic with some notes of red fruits and spice. Red wine from Alentejo with a beautiful red garnet colour.

Please enjoy the wine the red wine at the temperature of 16 / 17ºC.

Classification: Vinho Regional Alentejano

Type: Red Wine

Brand name: Monte de Seda – Tinto 2014

• Acidity: 4,9 g/dm3
• pH: 3,50
• Sugar: 1,4 g/dm3
• ABV: 13,5% Vol.

Viticulture

Harvest: 2014

Varieties: Aragonês, Cabernet Sauvignon, Alicante Bouschet and Syrah

Region: North Alentejo – Portugal

Soil type: Mediterranean of granite origin.

Climate: Mediterranean, with a subtle continentality during Spring/Summer.

Harvest:

Date: September of 2014

Type: Manual/Hand picking

Vinification:

Fermentation: In a controlled temperature stainless steel vessels, after pre-fermentation maceration.

Maturation: In stainless steel vessels with temperature control

Colour: Garnet red

Nose: Aromatic with notes of red fruits and spice

Palate: It is silky and elegant, smooth and balanced.

Some food ideas:

Red wine from the Alentejo: Oxtail stew, Wood-fired leg of lamb, Chilean beef casserole, Kebab with lamb and chicken, Roast suckling pig with tamarillo sauce, Fillet steak with foie gras and truffles, Beef wellington with honey roasted carrots, Korean-style beef stir fried in garlic, soy and sesame, etc.

Alentejo Region

There is something fortifying and liberating about the Alentejo landscape, with its never-ending space, its immense undulating plains, huge skies of the deepest blue, its infinite horizon… and the people, calm and unruffled folk, immensely proud of their homeland. The scenery flows smoothly from vineyard to wheat field, a deep green at the end of winter, the colour of straw at the end of spring and burned ochre during the searing summer months. The unmistakable shapes of cork-oaks and holm oaks line the horizon, symbols of a region covering one third of continental Portugal.

The characteristic flatness of the Alentejo, and consequent lack of physical barriers to block the condensation of humidity coming from the sea, removes any hint of Atlantic influence in the region. But the few hill ranges that do exist are responsible for the distinctive character of each of the sub-regions, providing singular conditions for vine growing throughout the Alentejo.

What all Alentejo wines have in common is the offer of endless pleasure, whether red, rosé or white. Wines filled with aromatic exuberance, rounded and smooth wines with the unique capacity to be drunk young… secure in the knowledge that they will age with distinction.

The grapes

ARAGONEZ

This is an Iberian grape variety par excellence, one of the few to be grown and esteemed in both of the Peninsula’s countries.

Its Spanish descent is unequivocal, with more than one of the nation’s provinces laying claim to paternity.  It is called Tempranillo in Rioja – the region most likely to be its birthplace.

Few grape varieties can have so eloquent and straightforward a designation as Aragonez.

In Rioja, it earned the nickname Tempranillo from the Spanish temprana, meaning to ripen early, which of course it does, well before the autumn showers of September and avoiding the first rainfalls of the equinox.

In Lisbon, it takes the name Abundante because of its high yields and vigorous growth. Aragonez has a short growth cycle, leafing late which protects it from spring frosts.

A reliable producer not only in good years, but also in the worst when its yields will be lower, such as in hot and dry climates and in sandy or limestone soils. Such conditions produce lively yet deep wines with a happy combination of elegance and strength, almond fruit and spice.

CABERNET SAUVIGNON

Cabernet Sauvignon is the most international of all French grape varieties, being widely grown across all five continents.

It has found a special niche and style in the Alentejo, one of the few Portuguese winegrowing regions where it can ripen to perfection.

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of those varieties that can be termed “enriching”; deeply coloured and thick-skinned, it can spice up blends, imbuing body and consistency to well-composed, perfumed, fruity and spicy wines.

It is rarely bottled as a varietal wine in the Alentejo, but is present in small amounts to give structure in many regional Alentejo wines.

Appreciated for its versatility, resistance and correctness it yields wines of immense longevity that age with elegance and security.

ALICANTE BOUSCHET

Despite not being an indigenous Portuguese grape variety, Alicante Bouschet is so deep-rooted in Alentejo collective patrimony that it is often assumed to be Portuguese. In fact it is a displaced variety, the result of conjoining the French varieties Petit Bouschet and Grenache.

It is one of the world’s very few colouring grapes, able to provide concentrated, deeply coloured wines, a feature that has earned it the nickname “Writing Ink”.

Its many wine attributes include structure, firmness, tannins … and colour, lots and lots of colour! Alicante Bouschet is seldom bottled as a varietal wine, reinforcing its image as a rustic, structuring grape that could produce pungent and extraordinary wines.

It does wonders to a blend, adding colour, vigour and volume, as so many Alentejo wines will attest to.

The aromas it evokes are of forest berries, cocoa, olives and vegetal notes. Alicante Bouschet is assuredly our most Portuguese non-Portuguese grape variety.

SYRAH

Of all the non-Portuguese varieties to be grown here, Syrah has best adapted to the rigours of the Alentejo climate, adjusting easily to the searing summer heat with its interminable hours of sunshine and extreme temperatures.

Grown in warm, poor Alentejo soil, Syrah wines come close to those from the New World.

Big robust and full-bodied wines with lots of fruit, some pepper, usually spicy, sometimes powerful and alcoholic.

Wines from early-ripening grapes are accessible when young, smooth and inviting with good cellaring potential.

Varietal Syrah wines are made but they are few in number, usually being used in small amounts in many of the Alentejo’s most emblematic wines.

Export / Deliver Red Wine

One innovative process guarantees a logistic service with fast and efficient deliveries across Europe. To this end, we count on the experience of several certified partners in the area of land transport, through outsourcing contracts.

In addition to the various European routes, we guarantee deliveries to any part of the world, through outsourcing contracts with several freight carriers, using land routes, sea routes and air cargo for special situations.

Our functional structure allows for logistic solutions for any and all requests, with individualized treatment in relation to the nature of the routes, products and the clients themselves.

For more information please contact us or visit our website.

 Enjoy…