Wine Concept

A wine with a contemporary style, having an elegant and intense profile. The wines show the character of the selected vineyard parcels on the Estate.

Agriculture

Integrated Production (certified)

A dry winter followed by above average temperatures in spring and summer, gave rise to an early start to the harvest. Although temperatures continued to be high, there was no extreme heat during the vintage, and the dry conditions were excellent for fruit quality, producing wines with intense, persistent, aromatic fruit.

SOIL TYPE
Granite/schist rock with clay/loam soil.

AVERAGE AGE OF VINES
18 years

Grape Varieties

Antão Vaz, Arinto, Roupeiro

Vinification / Maturation

Destemming, must chilling, skin maceration, pneumatic pressing, cold settling, fermentation temperature control with selected yeast inoculation in stainless steel tanks, centrifuging, fining, cold stabilization and filtration.

More Information

In the 18th century, João de Aboim, a descendent of Egas Moniz and an important figure in the time of King Afonso III, created, from the different lands given by the Monsaraz and Portel municipalities, Defesa do Esporão one of the oldest estates of this type in Southern Portugal.

Defesas were large demarcated estates that were defended against grazing cattle from other areas and directly linked to the founding of Portugal during the Christian reconquest of the south. Examples of agro-forestry and pastoralist systems, defesas had a variety of uses. Deriving from the Mediterranean forest, at the time of the founders, the defesas reclaimed land from forests for the purpose of pasture.

Defesa do Esporão was one of the key examples of this type of estate linked to the founding of Portugal. Its boundaries, which were established in the late-13th century by a charter kept at Torre do Tombo national archive, have remained unchangend until today.

For centuries, the estate has employed agro-forestry and pastoralist methods based on the preservation of biodiversity and a multifunctional system that Esporão considers best practice to protect our ecosystem.

Wine Makers

David Baverstock and Sandra Alves

Colour

Crystal clear, light straw.

Aroma

Intense citric aromas with notes of grapefruit and fresh pear.

Palate

Rich fruit flavours, elegant style, balanced and persistent.

Sizes

750 ml

Bottling

February 2016

Alcohol/Volume

13.5 %

Total Acidity

6.8 g/l

pH

3.2

Reducing Sugar / Baumé

1.9 g/l