Vila Santa Reserva 2014

João Portugal Ramos is to Portugal what Piero Antinori is to Tuscany and Emile Peynaud was to Bordeaux. A leading pioneer who modernised Portuguese winemaking. He has been Winemaker or Winery of the Year nine times now, and won a prize for innovation in 2008. His emphasis has always been to bring out the fresh fruit of wines through low yields and careful, modern winemaking. In this wine he also uses a portion of grapes trodden in big, traditional stone lagares (troughs). He began planting vines in Alentejo in the 1990s, on schist and limestone-clay soils. Using native grapes, along with Syrah and Cabernet, this is a rich spicy red, aged in new oak for nine months to lend a wrap of vanilla spice. João recommends it with game or roast meats.