2019 Vitor Claro Colmeal Dominó ‘Las Vedras’ Tinto

Region: Beira < Alentejo < Portugal

Grapes: Alicante Bouchet

Vineyard/Cellar Stats: Organic farming, granite soils; partial carbonic fermentation, aged in stainless steel; bottled unfined/unfiltered with minimal added SO2; 12%

Winemaker: Vitor Claro

Vitor was an up-and-coming chef in Portugal when he got the wine bug from Dirk Niepoort (the guy who pretty much put Portuguese wine on the global map) and decided to try his hands at making the kind of wine he wanted to drink with the food he cooked at his restaurant.  By 2016, he had given up the restaurant to focus full time on wine. He tells a story of his early days, in a lab with another winemaker who was pushing all of the enology “products” (boxes of chemicals + additives) on him.  It hit him that nobody was talking about the grapes at all, and told the guy, “We will do a wine with none of that stuff. You’ll be amazed.”  He did, and we are. 

This wine, his Alicante Bouchet from the Las Vedras vineyard, is refreshing, light and energetic, quite different than the typical reds of the Alentejo region, most of which are best described as “warm and generous”.  This one is lean yet textural, with intriguing saltiness, fragrant orange peel, crunchy red fruits and  sneaky tannins.  Sort of rustic and al dente up front, with a long, pretty finish.

Serve slightly chilled.