António Madeira Vinha da Serra Tinto 2022

António Madeira Vinha da Serra Tinto is a red from the DOC Dão in Portugal's Beiras, a field blend of Tinta Amarela, Baga and Jaen. The grapes are traditionally foot trodden and fermented with native yeasts in open tanks, and the yeasts already present on the fruit and in the cellar give a more site specific ferment. Extraction is deliberately light to keep the wine fresh and to show the grapes clearly. The Dão sits on granite soils at altitude, which with its cool nights preserves acidity and gives red fruit with firm structure and a mineral edge. The wine is racked into a used French oak barrel for malolactic fermentation the following spring and ages there for around eighteen months, so the wood softens the texture without adding new oak flavour. This is a biodynamic, natural and vegan wine. Colour is medium ruby. The nose shows red berries and plum with dried herbs, earth and pepper, and the palate is medium bodied and fresh, with fine tannin, savoury depth and a mineral finish. Serve at 15 to 16 degrees. It suits grilled meats and earthy dishes.