Stars of Setúbal

2. Castelão in a blend

As we discussed in last month’s issue, Castelão is the Setúbal Peninsula’s hallmark red variety. But many producers prefer to use it in a blend rather than as a single varietal, either in tandem with other Portuguese varieties or perhaps as a foil for an international star such as Cabernet Sauvignon.

We tasted a selection of these blends, all of which had discernible Castelão character but went off on some often unexpected tangents thanks to the influence of one or two partner varieties.

Setúbal Peninsula’s red blends are among its most exciting wines. Here are four that particularly stand out for us.

Fontanário de Pegões

Tinto 2021

Hallgarten & Novum Wines RRP £9.99

Touriga Nacional and Cabernet Sauvignon each contributes 10% of the blend in this DO Palmela wine, which has the kind of soft, approachable character that will win it no shortage of admirers.

There’s a deep, rounded, ripe-cherry personality to the nose as well as the palate, and a touch of vanilla from the oak maturation, but also a racier hint of blood that would make it a success with all kinds of red meats.

Overall, it’s a likeable, unpretentious wine at a very attractive price.

Reserva 2020

Marta Vine RRP: £9.50

This family-owned producer has opted for a 30% Touriga Nacional component in its blend, and there’s a floral, perfumed dimension to the aroma that gives the game away.

It’s a wine you don’t have to work very hard to get to know. Its vibrancy is evident from the first sip, darker fruits mingling with the redder ones we associate with Castelão, with a keen line of acidity pinning the whole thing together. Six months in French and American oak adds some spice to proceedings.

Raymond Reynolds RRP: £14.99

The name translates as “vineyard of sparrows”, as it seems the local birds are as fond of the grapes as the winemakers are, but thankfully they leave enough to produce this intriguing site-specific blend. Castelão is joined by Touriga Nacional and Alicante Bouschet, all foottrodden in the traditional way. The finished wine is no less rustic, with a wild character suggesting natural ferment and minimal intervention. Earthy and herby, with sour cherry and ripe plum notes.

Portuguese Story RRP £24

Another walk on the wild side, this time with Touriga Nacional and Cabernet Sauvignon joining the fun. The vineyards are just 10km from the coast and the wine is as bracing as the Atlantic breeze, with some sour cherry notes and a beautifully fresh acidity. There’s also something deeper and darker going on, suggesting coffee and dark chocolate, but the finish is clean and tangy. A wine you can easily imagine working perfectly with cold cuts and an alfresco summer lunch.

Fortunately the Champagnes really stood out in our tasting with a style that is elegant and expressive from long lees ageing and low dosages, as well as fine, complex singlevariety Pinot Meunier cuvées which are quite unique.

We followed up the tasting with a visit to meet Hugo and better understand the family estate and his vision for it.

We launched Champagne Serveaux at our portfolio tastings in February and Hugo joined us for those, as well as spending time with some of our sales team. This of course is vital to ensure they are well-informed and as enthusiastic as me about this addition to our range. Interest and feedback from our customers was very positive and sales are steadily growing but, as with any new producer we take on, we see this very much as a long-term relationship which we hope develops to our mutual benefit.

Boutinot & Champagne Serveaux fils

“The famous grape variety of the Marne Valley is Pinot Meunier. We choose to promote this variety because it has great potential for ageing, and it brings a lot of freshness and salinity to our wines.”

Hugo Serveaux, Champagne Serveaux Fils

Out of our 15 hectares under vine, nine are dedicated to Pinot Meunier. When my grandfather started out, the first vine he planted was Pinot Meunier. My grandfather was a visionary, who invested in vineyard land without knowing if it would secure a future for him and his family. He was a pioneer in his passion as a winegrower.

Minerality, freshness and salinity: these are the three words which characterise Champagne Serveaux Fils. We invested in a new winemaking cellar in 2016; we have a lot of stainless steel tanks to separate each plot, and each grape variety. The majority of our wine is vinified in stainless steel tanks and around 10% is vinified in oak barrels.

Our first Boutinot order was at the start of 2023. We hope to have a very long relationship, and make a name for our family business and our Champagne in the UK market.

When Lcb Informed Tuggy Meyer

that 140 cases of his wine had been stolen from its Cambridgeshire bond, the Huntsworth Wine owner thought he’d be compensated for his losses. He never was – and, despite a court agreeing that LCB had failed to properly look after his wine, Meyer ended up £400,000 out of pocket.

By Graham Holter

February 2019. The weather is icy, Theresa May’s administration is in its death throes, and interest rates have just been pegged at 0.75%. At the EHD bond in Sunbury-on-Thames, a lorry draws up. It’s there to collect several wooden boxes of en primeur wines, bearing labels such as Lynch-Bages, d’Yquem, Lafite and Mouton, belonging to the Huntsworth Wine Company in central London.

The wines are temporarily moved to LCB’s Olympus warehouse in Barking but are ultimately destined for the company’s bond in rural Linton, Cambridgeshire, where they are stacked on shelving in a mezzanine area. Huntsworth owner Tuggy Meyer has gradually been transferring his stock here since October 2018. He’s had some disagreements with EHD and decided it is time for a change. His conversations with LCB convince him that his stock will be in safe hands.

Yet within a week of arriving at Linton, 140 cases of the wine are stolen, with an estimated value in the region of £121,000. He’s entitled, it transpires, to a pay-out of just £1,000. Meyer sues LCB, confident of more realistic compensation. Yet even though the High Court agrees that LCB has failed to take reasonable care of his property, it is Meyer who ends up out of pocket. He is presented with the bill for all legal fees – his own, and LCB’s – as well as for the duty payable on wine he bought but will now never be able to sell. Meyer’s total losses, by his current estimates, amount to at least £400,000.

It’s the night of Saturday, February 9, 2019. At least two people approach the Linton warehouse on foot, carrying ladders. Some of the intruders use black paint and shrink wrap to disable external security cameras. They climb onto the roof and cut two holes, both directly above the mezzanine area where Meyer’s wine was recently stacked. After gaining entry, the intruders pass the wine up through the roof a case at a time, relay it down into the yard, and load it into a waiting van. By 1.45am on Sunday, the wine has been driven away.

It seems pretty clear that the thieves know exactly what they are looking for, where it is located, and how to avoid detection. Even LCB managing director Alf Allington, in the evidence he will later give in court, agrees that the holes have been made in “just about the perfect point”. Not only is the access point very close to where the wine is stored, it is also conveniently out of sight of the CCTV cameras.

The intruders seem aware that the warehouse alarm system does not cover the roof, and that motion sensors inside the warehouse can be bypassed if they stand on boxes. They also appear confident that no staff will be on duty that weekend.

In court, Allington agrees that the thieves are aware of the value of the wine they are stealing, and probably have a buyer lined up for it. He accepts it is likely that the burglars have been assisted by someone who has been on site before.

So was it an inside job? In court, the question is put to LCB. Security manager Steven Pattison admits that this is a possibility, but no investigations have been instigated as it was assumed that police would be making their own enquiries. John Lambourne, the site’s operations manager, says that staff have been questioned. The “feeling” is that no one knows anything about how the theft took place.

Judge Pearce, sitting in the High Court in July 2021, said that LCB had acted appropriately on the night of the theft by locking the warehouse and setting alarms. But in other respects, he questioned whether “reasonable care” had really been taken to protect its client’s property.

The fencing at Linton was “basic”, he said, and “below the standard that [Meyer] was entitled to expect”. He also referred to inadequacies in the warehouse’s CCTV and motion detectors.

The court heard that about a quarter of the warehouse – some 10,000 square feet –was not covered by CCTV cameras.