The Insider - August 2025
A special flight of fancy for our most discerning customers. The Insider August box this year is a triptych of wines from Manuel Pereira do Melo’s boutique wine mark, Primado. From just two hectares of vines they turn out subtle, elegant wines without fuss or fanfare.
As always, wine descriptions below, and if you run out, you can order more from The Cellar.
Don’t forget, you can look up past boxes in The Archive.
Primado, Branco
[grape/vintage] Encruzado / 2021
[region] Dão
Pure and simple. Rich and creamy. This monovarietal hasn’t touched a wood barrel, and is like a trapeze artist on the high wire – brilliantly poised, impeccably balanced, defying gravity. You can watch the show tonight and drink in its splendor right away, but it will get even better with age, so maybe stash it away in your cellar for a few years.
Pairs well with pretty much anything from a summery grilled fish to roast pheasant or even some red meats and stinky cheeses.
Check it out in The Cellar.
Primado, Rosé
[grape/vintage] Touriga-Nacional, Tinta-Roriz, Alfrocheiro, Tinta-Pinheira / 2022
[region] Dão
It’s a barefoot cellist in a florist’s shop. She draws her bow over the strings. Deep, resonant notes fill the air with lime blossom, fresh-cut peaches, and little drops of raspberry and blackberry. The cello hums with quiet confidence—rich, rounded, and just a little wild around the edges. There’s a whisper of spice, like someone crushed pink peppercorns on a windowsill, and tannins that don’t shout but insist, gently, that they’re there. It’s gluttonous, in the best way—full-bodied and silky, yet carried by a fresh, precise line that gives it elegance and lift. The music lingers long after she’s finished, and so does the wine.
Pairs well with a sashimi platter with the fattest tuna belly slices you’ve every seen, a delicately spiced yellow thai curry, a tarte tatin with a scoop of real vanilla bean icecream melting on top.
Check it out in The Cellar.
Primado, SB
(grape/vintage) Tinta Roriz / 2021
[region] Dão
Primado “SB” isn’t polished—it’s elemental. Foot-trodden, wild-fermented, and left to rest in stainless steel before a year of quiet in bottle, it channels the raw pulse of the Dão. It drinks easy, but rewards attention. Bright and lifted, yet grounded by wild herbs, stony tannins, and dark berry depth, it’s a red that feels both ancient and alive. there’s something primal swirling underneath—dark fruit, a whisper of herbs, the crunch of granite soil. Let it breathe. Take your time. There’s weather in this wine—air, earth, memory—and it’s all there in the glass.
Pairs well with a roast pheasant, tender pork loin, any red meat or chcolatey dessert.
Check it out in The Cellar.
