Wine Concept

With a contemporany style and an elegant and intense profile, these wines show the character of selected andwell-defined plots in the Herdade.

Agriculture

The 2022 agricultural year was a dry year. During the vegetative rest period (autumn-winter) and spring, there were mild temperatures and low precipitation values. In the vineyard, budbreak was early, as in the previous year, and moderate temperatures anticipated vegetative development. The very high temperatures and the lack of water in the summer contributed to distant maturation between the varieties, resulting in a precision harvest with a special focus on the expression of each variety.

SOIL TYPE
Granitic/schist nature, clay loam structure.

VINEYARDS AGE
20 years

Grape Varieties

Touriga Nacional, Syrah

Vinification / Maturation

Separate harvest of each variety, destemming, crushing, alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel vats with controlled temperatures(22 to 25º), pressing, followed by malolactic fermentation in stainless steel vats.

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

Sandra Alves & Teresa Gaspar

Colour

Intense ruby.

Aroma

Intense of wild berries and red plum, with some fresh woodsy notes.

Palate

Rich and intense, with a vibrant texture and a long, balanced finish.

Sizes

750 ml

Bottling

January 2023

Alcohol/Volume

13.5 %

Total Acidity

5.6 g/l

pH

3.67

Reducing Sugar / Baumé

0.3 g/l