Complex notes of black fruit jam with spices (black pepper, cloves) combined with notes of coffee, berries and cigars. Complex palate with notes of spices and dark chocolate, with good structure and lingering finish.

Founded in 1973 by José Roquette and Joaquim Bandeira, Esporão’s mission is to make the finest wines from what nature provides.

Herdade do Esporão is located 170km from Lisbon, integrated in Alentejo DOC in Reguengos de Monsaraz sub-region. From the 2019 vintage onwards, all wines produced with our own grapes will have organic certification.

Organic vineyards planted on granite and schist base, with a loam & clay structure. Average age of vines is 20 years.

Temperatures in 2020 were slightly higher than the average of the last 21 years, while rainfall was identical to the values recorded in the same period. Winter and spring were mild and rainy, allowing a healthy replenishment of the vines' water reserves, which resulted in good vegetative growth compared with 2019. The summer was very hot and dry, presenting extremely high temperatures in July and leading us to begin the harvest around 2 weeks earlier than 2019. The weather conditions in the veraison phase led to gradual ripening, which enabled a selective harvest that favored the expression and quality of each grape variety.

Each variety was vinified separately, destemmed and crushed. Temperature controlled alcoholic fermentation in a combination of stainless steel vats, concrete tanks and small marble basins. Malolactic fermentation in stainless steel tanks is followed by 12 months ageing in American (60%) and French (40%) oak barrels. After bottling, the wine is further aged 8 months in the bottle.

Great match to grilled meats, mature cheese or mushroom risotto.