Winemaker Notes
The Estate’s flagship wine was first bottled in 1949. Sourced predominantly from the Estate’s best Alicante Bouschet grapes from the Carapetos, Ponte das Canas and Dourada vineyards, with up 15% of other local varieties – mainly Trincadeira – grown on the Estate. The latter provides an important aromatic component as Alicante Bouschet’s primary aromas are naturally shy.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Tinto, the regular estate bottling, is a 76/24 blend of Alicante Bouschet and Trincadeira. It was aged for 36 months in used 5,000-liter tonels of varying ages and comes in at 14% alcohol. It was then held back another 24 months. This shows the difference between a nice overachieving effort in 2014 and a great vintage. This adds extra concentration, extra focus and extra power, albeit in a controlled fashion. You can drink it now, but this will be better in a few years. It will last for a couple of decades after that. Best after 2022.
The most famous of the rare, red-fleshed grape varieties, Alicante Bouschet is known as a Teinturier grape. While most red grapes have red skin but clear flesh or pulp, the French, Alicante Bouschet and the Georgian (country) variety called, Saperavi, both have red. These make intensely hued, full-bodied red wines that take to oak well and can stand some time in the cellar. Somm Secret—While originally the product of a French crossing (Petit Bouschet and Grenache) of the late 1800s, today Alicante Bouchet grows widely in Spain and is gaining notoriety in Portugal.
Responsible for a majority of Portugal’s fine wine production—and over half of the world’s cork production—Alentejo represents a major force in Portugal’s wine industry. This southern Portugese region is characterized by stretches of rolling plains and vineyards dotted with majestic cork oaks. Access to land enables the farmers of Alentejo to produce wines in great economies of scale, without compromising quality, compared to those regions to the north. The region of Alentejo indeed covers a third of the country.
Its classified (DOP) wines must come from one of eight subregions, where elevations are a bit higher, air cooler and less fertile soils are perfect for vines. The optimal regions are Portalegre, Borba, Redondo, Reguengos de Monsaraz, Granja-Amareleja, Vidigueira, Evora and Moura. Alentejo is not without the conveniences of modern winemaking as well. Irrigation supplements low rainfall and temperature control in the winery assures high quality wines.
The potential of the area has attracted many producers and its wine production continues to grow. Alentejo’s charming, fruit-forward wines have naturally led to local and global popularity.
White wines tend to be blends of Antão Vaz, Roupeiro and Arinto. However, in growing proportions, the white grapes Verdelho, Alvarinho and Viognier have been enjoying success. But red varieties actually exceed whites in Alentejo. Aragonez, Trincadeira, Alicante Bouschet and Castelão grapes blend well together and are responsible for most of the Alentejo reds.