Esporão Private Selection Red 2019

Vinification of Esporao Private Collection Red Wine 2019: each grape variety was vinified and aged separately. The Syrah and Aragonez underwent fermentation in small stainless steel vats, with foot treading alternated with short manual pump-overs done 2 to 3 times a day, depending on the daily tasting throughout fermentation. The Alicante Bouschet ferments in a small stainless steel tank, with manual pump-overs. In this way, and due to the relatively fragile skin of the grape, excessive extraction of tannins from foot treading is avoided. After pressing, the wines were kept separate. Malolactic fermentation took place spontaneously in barrels. Aging was done 30% in new barrels and 70% in used (1 year) 225L and 500L French oak barrels. After 18 months of aging, during which only one racking was done immediately after malolactic fermentation, the final blend was made and bottled on June 25, 2015, with only slight filtration and no fining.