Ramilo Colheita Tinto

From just up the coast from Lisbon, close to the incredible medieval castle complex, Sintra (well worth a visit!). Once a source of peasant ‘jug’ wine, a new generation of growers are realising the potential of low-yielding vines, planted on clay-limestone soil, with the summer heat tempered by the proximity of the Atlantic. Beautiful terraced vineyards enjoy a long growing season, with cloudy mornings and cool nights provideingthe perfect foil to warm sunny days.

We shouldn’t take it for granted, but this is another family winery with the fourth generation currently at the helm. The story’s quite different here though- the previous two generations chose to down tools and built up a successful operation marketing and distributing wines from other regions of Portugal. It was brothers Pedro and Nuno who gave up this comfortable existence and undertook to rebuild the family winery and restore the vineyards, retaining prized old vines and replanting plots that had gone to ruin.

Touriga Nacional and Aragonez provide beautifully ripe, dark berry fruit, but it's the Castelão that brings this wine to life. It adds acidity, freshness, and bright cherry with a sour edge. There's a lovely leafy herbaceous note and rusticity to the tannic structure that balances the more modern fruit component. Overall, a really great wine to drink.