Quinta da Fonte Souto Tinto DOC Alentejo

Description

Quinta da Fonte Souto Tinto is a Portuguese red wine produced by The Symington Family at their new wine estate the Alentejo in Southern Portugal. It is a blend of traditional Alentejo red grape varieties.

Quinta da Fonte Souto Branco is The Symington Family’s first property outside of the Douro region. The Symington’s are best known as Port and Douro wine producers and own Grahams, Dows and Warres Port Houses, amongst others. The 207 hectare Quinta da Fonte Souto estate is situated along the slopes of the Sao Mamede range near Portalegre. It is located at an altitude of over 500 metres above sea level. The higher than average altitude with its cooler microclimate is quite a contrast to the Alentejo region’s typically hot and dry conditions. There are 43 hectares of vineyards planted on schist and granite soils which are much less fertile than those found in the flat and rolling terrain which characterizes the majority of the Alentejo. Grape varieties planted are typical of the region and are mainly Aragones, Alfrocheiro, Trincadeira, Alicante Bouschet, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. It is name “souto”, the Portuguese name for a wooded area planted with chestnut trees – there is a large chestnut grove at the estate. 2017 is the first vintage.

The blend of for Quinta da Fonte Souto Tinto is 40% Alicante Bouschet, 25% Trincadeira, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah and 10% Alfrocheiro. The hand-picked grapes are placed in small, shallow boxes and taken to the on-site winery. Manual sorting is followed by destemming and gentle crushing after which grapes are transferred to the fermentation vats. Fermentations are individually monitored, and the temperature and macerations are adjusted to maximise the potential of each fermenting batch. A period of post fermentation maceration follows to encourage the extraction of some tannin from the pips to complement those extracted from the grape skins. This adds structure and longevity to the wines.

Winemakers are Charles Symington, Pedro Correia and José Daniel Soares (who is resident winemaker). 

This wine is suitable for vegetarians and vegans.