Grape: Jaen (Mencia) Vintage: 2022 Type: Red Sourced from high-altitude old vines nestled in the granite foothills of the Serra do Açor in Portugal's iconic Dão region, Vinha Celta highlights the delicate, fragrant side of the Jaen grape (known across the border in Spain as Mencía). Domínio do Açor—a project co-founded by winemaking master Luís Seabra—focuses on minimal-intervention, biodynamic farming that lets the rugged mountain terrain speak clearly. The grapes are grown on shallow, decomposed granite soils at cool elevations, promoting slow ripening and preserving aromatic precision. In the cellar, the fruit is wild-fermented with a high proportion of whole clusters in large, neutral oak vessels to preserve freshness and floral complexity. Aged gently on fine lees without heavy extraction or new oak, it is bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulfur. In the glass, it pours a bright, translucent ruby-garnet color. The nose is extraordinarily fragrant and lifted, bursting with wild strawberries, sour red cherries, crushed violets, white pepper, and a cool, herbal whisper of pine resin and mountain garrigue. On the palate, a "crystalline" core of granite-driven acidity slices through the juicy red fruit profile, giving the liquid an ethereal, weightless agility. Fine, powdery tannins frame the mid-palate with subtle chalky texture, while the whole-cluster fermentation adds a savory, herbal spice that balances the fruit. It glides into an intensely fresh, bone-dry finish that leaves a persistent, mouthwatering trail of wild cranberries, crushed granite, and cracked pepper.