Origin
Despite its southerly location, Vidígueira is one of the cooler Alentejo sub-regions and benefits from cool Atlantic air funnelled inland from the coast by a gap in the coastal mountains. Soils are predominantly composed of limestone, which helps to control vine vigour and lends elegance to the wines. All of the Herdade do Peso vineyards are sustainably farmed and an on-site dam provides much-needed water to irrigate the vineyards during the Alentejo summers.
Producer
The Guedes family had always rated the quality of the Herdade do Peso grapes – they had been using them in their Vinha do Monte wines since the early 1990s – and jumped at the opportunity to purchase the estate in 1996. Situated in the south of the Alentejo, in the sub-region of Vidígueira, the Herdade do Peso estate covers a total of 457 hectares, 160 hectares of which are currently under vine. Winemaker Luís Cabral de Almeida makes expressive and generous wines that reflect the warmer climate of the Alentejo.
Grape Variety
44% Touriga Nacional , 40% Alicante Bouschet, 16% Aragonez/Aragonês
Upon arrival at the winery, the grapes were destemmed, gently crushed and underwent a cold soak on the skins for three to four days prior to fermentation to extract aromatics and colour. Fermentation then took place at a controlled temperature of 26c with gentle pumping over to preserve the fruit flavours and extract smooth tannins. 30% of the wine was aged in used French oak barrels for six months while the remainder was kept in stainless-steel tanks.The wine was lightly fined and filtered prior to bottling.
Food Match
delicious with beef, lamb & poultry.
Alcohol Percentage
14%
Will –
A fantastic wine. Exactly why we use this site. Come across wines you would not ordinarily get access to and this was superb. Both my wife and I really enjoyed this and shall definitely be getting it again.