COZs "vm-Castelão" '20

COZs is a partnership formed in 2015 between two friends, who just happen to be two of Portugal's best winemakers: Tiago Teles (Tiago Teles Wines) and António Marques de la Cruz (Quinta da Serradinha). They joined forces to produce a wine from a special vineyard at Quinta dos Cozinheiros, but soon another opportunity emerged that the duo could not pass up, in Serra de Montejunto, a gorgeous, forested limestone mount range approximately an hour’s drive north of Lisbon. In 2018 they sourced some young-vine Castelão, a red variety, from Quinta da Murta, located just eight kilometers from the Atlantic. “Vm-Castelão” is the resulting wine. 

Like all COZs wines, it is fermented with natural yeast in 1,000-liter old oak barrels, and then pressed and aged for 11 months in old French oak barrels. Castelão has become well-known in recent years in Portugal for its ability to produce fresh, low-alcohol red wines. While that is a good generalization, “vm-Castelão” is so much more. It has a beautiful nose, showing notes of dried cranberry, sour cherry, and baking spices. On the palate it is fresh, with bright acidity, more red fruit flavors, mineral notes, and savory herbs. Serve it with a slight chill.