2020 Pegos Claros Castelão ‘Claro’ Palmela DOC

100% Castelão, hand harvested from 70 year old vines with thin sand topsoil and clay and harvested slightly early. 100% destemmed and fermented for three days in concrete lagar before finishing in tank. 60% of the blend was aged in steel tank, and 40% in used 500L barrels for 12 months. 12.5% alcohol. 

This very interesting red blend combines low alcohol and a lightish body with ripe, mouthfilling red fruit for an enjoyable and easy drinking juxtaposition. Bright cherries, brambly blackberries and strawberries with soft vanilla, clove and spice notes. Big, ripe tannins don’t compromise the smooth texture. Very, very food friendly.

Founded in 1920 in the Setúbal Peninsula southeast of Lisbon, Pegos Claros is an insider’s secret for the unique quality of its Castelão. Most of the estate’s ground is given over to cork oak and pine forest, but its grapevines are a treasure trove of venerable Castelão likely without parallel: 75 acres planted in the 1920s and the 1950s in a meter of sandy topsoil. In an average year, these unirrigated elders yield just 500 gallons of juice per 2.5 acres of small-berried goodness. Consulting enologist since 2012 is Bernardo Cabral, known for his stellar work at the Ilha do Pico co-op in the Azores. He’s working with characteristic attention to detail here and producing captivating and affordable expressions of this unique raw material.