Quinta da Pellada Quinta de Saes Tinto 2018 750ml

Alvaro Castro replanted his vines at Saes around the turn of the century, an east-facing vineyard in the foothills of the Serra da Estrella, where he and his daughter Maria grow touriga nacional, alfrocheiro, jaen and tinta pinheira for this blend. Fermented without added yeasts and aged in older oak barrels, this is among the most straightforward wines they make, and it showed beautifully in 2018: An elegant red with lovely richness, its melodramatic funk in control, its fruit in blossom — “red plum, violets and rose petals,” as panelist Bruno Almeida described it.

The 2018 Tinto Quinta de Saes is a blend of 30% each of Touriga Nacional and Alfrocheiro, plus 15% Tinta Roriz and 25% Jaen, aged for 18 months in more or less neutral French barriques. It comes in at 13% alcohol. This is from 28-year-old vines in Saes. Understated, elegant and expressive, this is a well-priced Tinto in the lineup that delivers some bang for the buck. Its main limitation is the structure. It’s built to drink now, not to age for a decade or more. That’s not to say it won’t hold nicely for several years, but this tastes great now and goes down easy. There won’t likely be any great reward to holding it a long time. In the meanwhile, it is serious and classic, not overly fruity or candied, like some at this end of the lineup can be. It should be a good choice for value in a restaurant.