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Palmela is a DOC on the Setúbal Peninsula of Portugal, immediately across the Tejo estuary from Lisbon. It is predominantly focused on red wines, and in particular those made from the Castelão Frances grape variety.
The area covers both the sandy plains east of the Palmela township and the Serra da Arrabida hills. Prior to 2009, when the Portuguese wine laws were overhauled, these two distinct geographic areas had their own IPR (Indicação de Proveniencia Regulamentada) titles. Now, the Palmela DOC covers the wines made in both areas, but there is a separate DOC for the sweet, Moscatel-based wines of the area: Setúbal.
Although the DOC covers the two distinct terroirs, most of the Castelão vines used to make Palmela wines are located on the sandy plains. Here, the warm maritime climate and deep soils with poor fertility has proved one of the few places in Portugal where the variety can achieve full ripeness. Palmela DOC red wines are known for their balance, ripe tannins and cherry characters.
According to the DOC law, wines must be made up of at least 67 percent Castelão, although in practice many wines have a much higher proportion of the variety. A range of Portuguese and international varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon, Aragonez and Syrah make up the remainder of the wines. A small amount of dry white wine is produced under the Palmela DOC, mostly made from Fernão Pires and Moscatel de Setúbal.
