Arribas Wine Company Saroto Tinto

The Arribas Wine Company project began in 2017, when winemakers Frederico Machado and Ricardo Alves decided to embark upon a more personal passion project. The quest for diversity and a spot with unique characteristics took them to Bemposta, a small village in the north-east of Portugal, right on the border of Spain.

Their ethos is to create authentic wines based on regional varieties, from old vineyards (70-100 years old), using traditional techniques. They farm sustainably and respectfully, with winemaking done in a minimalistic way.

Saroto is a local term used to designate an animal with its tail cut off. The lizard on the label symbolizes the capacity of regeneration and represents Fererico and Ricardo’s desire to recover and preserve a rich and diverse heritage that would otherwise be lost.

A bend of both red and white varieties, including Tinta Gorda, Tinta Serrana, Bastardo, Malvasia, Posto Branco and more, Saroto Tinto’s grapes were hand-harvested and foot-trodden in a traditional stone lagar. They were immediately pressed, and the juice racked into used French and Austrian oak barrels, where it began to ferment naturally, with indigenous yeast and without temperature control (wild fermentation).

Unfined and unfiltered, it’s full of wild forest fruits with a kick of natural sourness (in a good way). Chill it down a little and enjoy the juiciness, fresh acidity and earthy minerality.