Esporão 4, Quatro Castas

• Vintage: 2017
  
• Origin: Alentejo, Portugal
  
• Taste Guide: Medium-full bodied & Dry. Red & black fruit aromas carry to the plummy palate where there are also cocoa, coffee & vanilla notes - Oaked
  
• 75cl - 13.5% - Traditional Cork Opening
  
• Blend: 25% Alicante Bouschet 25% Touriga Nacional 25% Shiraz(Syrah) 25% Alfrocheiro
  

In Portugal, it tends to be port wines that hog the limelight, but Herdade de Esporão is one of the largest and best known wineries in Portugal. It lies in a 1,200 hectare estate in the Alentejo sub-region, dating back to the thirteenth century and providing the ideal conditions to grow many native varieties in the different terroirs. This allows them to produce a wide range of wines with a very personal touch.
Esporão 4 Castas comes from 15 year-old vines planted in clay loam soil with shale stone. They use traditional agriculture to respect the spectacular landscape as much as possible. The land is covered with vineyards, olive trees, rivers and a central lake that brings balance during the hot sunlight hours. The harvest is carried out manually at the optimum moment of ripeness.
In the winery, Esporão 4 Castas ferments in stainless steel tanks and cement tanks at a controlled temperature of between 22 and 25ºC. Finally, it ages for 6 months in cement tanks and French oak barrels. Once bottled, it rests in the winery for 6 months.

Scores highly on Vivino.com and 2017 is a particularly good vintage.
Esporão 4 Castas is the perfect combination of four Alentejo native varieties. A complex red wine that is well balanced, full of character and will need to breathe for 30 minutes or so to appreciate the full depth and flavour. We also found a small amount of sediment (harmless) at the bottom of the bottle, final glass.

This wine finely accompanies red meats, roast beef and grilled meats.

Predominately red berry aromas associated with Aragones. Full body palate from the Shiraz, attractive texture from Alicante and great balance from Petit Verdot. Lovely rich red and dark berry flavours and oaking the wine has given it hints of chocolate/vanilla too.

This unique Portuguese speciality is difficult to find in this country and you certainly will not find it in Supermarkets. We found some retailing up to £12 which is fair for this wine but we have secured a good price and are passing it on to you, just £8.95