Textura Wines Pretexto Tinto 2020

Pretexto Tinto comes from Textura Wines in the Dão, the granite heart of northern Portugal and the home of Touriga Nacional. The grapes are drawn from vineyards around the Serra da Estrela and blend Alfrocheiro, Jaen, Tinta Roriz and Touriga Nacional. The Dão is a high plateau sheltered on three sides by granite mountain ranges, which push it towards a cooler, continental climate with wide swings between warm days and cold nights. That diurnal range preserves acidity and floral aromatics while the fruit ripens, and the granite-weathered soils, low in fertility and quick to drain, keep yields down and flavours concentrated. The wine was aged eleven months in French oak, which adds spice and firms the structure without covering the fruit, the barrel's slow oxygen exchange rounding the tannins. At 12.5 per cent it is medium bodied and fresh. The nose shows bright red fruit, cherry and strawberry, darker plum, a lick of pepper and a herbal, earthy edge; the palate is succulent and balanced, the tannins fine and the finish clean and mineral. Serve at 16 to 17 degrees. Good with pork, poultry and grilled meats.