Vitor Claro Domino Salao Frio

Trained as a chef, little did Vitor know that he would get the wine bug when he worked with Dirk Niepoort at one of his restaurants. A trip to the town of Portalegre in the Alentejo few years later turned the tide, as he fell in love with some very old vineyards and could not help but buy some grapes and give winemaking a stab. His friendship with Dirk proved helpful, not only getting excellent directions in regards to which vineyards he should work, but also in the style of wine that reflects the fruit from this plots without losing a restrained elegance. The vineyards in question are at 650m altitude, north facing and with an average vine age of 85 years. The soil formation is chiefly granitic with a higher percentage of quartz and the different varieties are mainly interplanted. He makes his wines as field blends, even including a percentage of white grapes in the reds. He likes extended post-fermentative macerations of up to 60 days and very low SO2. Ageing is carried out in old Burgundian barriques for about 12 months, after which the wines are lightly filtered and bottled.