Red 'Saroto' Arribas Wine Company 2023

The red 'Saroto' from the Portuguese winery Arribas Wine Company is a sleek and tasty label made from a rich blend of red and white grapes. We are in the territory of Mogadouro, in north-eastern Portugal, within the historical region of Trás-os-Montes, an area with a very old winemaking tradition.

The composite blend that forms the basis of Arribas Wine Company's 'Saroto' red wine involves the use of 70% red grapes and 30% white grapes, mainly from the local varieties Tinta Gorda, Tinta Serrana, Bastardo, Rufete, Alvarelhão, Alfrocheiro, Verdelho, Malvasia, Bastardo Branco, Posto Branco and Formosa. The vines are between 70 and 90 years old and grow on soils in the Trás-os-Montes area, located at an altitude of 600-700 metres above sea level and consisting of decomposed granite, quartz and clay. Harvesting is done by hand in boxes and the grapes are then pressed whole with the feet inside traditional lagars, large concrete tanks. Alcoholic fermentation occurs spontaneously through the intervention of indigenous yeasts alone, without temperature control, combined with just four days of maceration on the skins. After this short period of time, the mass is pressed and racked into French oak barrels of several passages, containers where alcoholic fermentation finishes and where malolactic fermentation and 9 months' maturation on the fine lees take place. The wine is finally bottled without undergoing any clarification or filtration.

Bright ruby red, slightly cloudy, is the colour of Arribas Wine Company's 'Saroto' Rosso, which on the nose expresses very fruity aromas of strawberry and delicate hints of thyme and iodine. The sip shows a juicy Mediterranean profile, with a beautiful freshness and low alcohol content that favour exceptional drinking, characterised by an intense savouriness on the finish.