COLOUR
Red
TYPE
Still
VINTAGE
2022
GRAPE
Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cão
PRODUCER
Família Carvalho Martins
REGION
Douro
CHARACTERISTICS
Body
Medium - Light
Sweetness
Dry
Acidity
Medium - High
Finish
Medium
Intensity
Tannins
Medium - Low
AROMAS & FLAVOURS
ABOUT THIS WINE
Pacto Palhete is a playful, high-quality modern interpretation of an ancient regional style from Northern Portugal. Quinta Vale do Olmo has been in the Carvalho Martins family for four generations, dating back to plantings by the great-grandfather in the early 20th century. For decades, the family sold their fruit to iconic Port houses. In 2014, brothers Vasco and Rui Martins stepped away from careers in banking and law to return to the estate. They built a modern winery to capture the unique, high-altitude freshness of Mêda, renewing their family commitment under the Pacto label. In a region famous for muscular, heavily extracted, and highly structured red wines, this wine is a refreshing anomaly.
ALCOHOL
12.0%
AVG. PRICE
€9
STYLE
Classic
SULPHITES
YES
When to drink
Now
Ideal temperature
10-12°C
INTERESTING FACTS
Fact 01
Palhete is a traditional Portuguese style, but this red-grape-only version resurrects a specific 1960s method from the town of Mêda.
Fact 02
The winemakers, brothers Vasco and Rui, abandoned careers in banking and law in 2014 to revive their family's historic estate.
Fact 03
The vineyards are planted at high altitudes of up to 600 meters, preserving exceptional freshness in a hot region.
FOOD PAIRING
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WINE MAKING PROCESS
The grapes are sourced from sustainably farmed, 25-year-old vines planted at high altitudes of 550 to 600 meters above sea level on schist and granite soils. The grapes are fully hand-harvested and pressed. The winemaking style pays homage to an old local method in Mêda from the 1960s: it is fermented similarly to a direct-press rosé, but skins from the red grapes are added at the end of fermentation to gently extract color, phenolics, and a subtle tannic structure. The wine is then aged in neutral French oak barrels.
