Estremoz – Portugal’s Bordeaux?
- Written by Chris Metcalfe
Estremoz is fast becoming known as one of the best sub-regions in the vast Alentejo region of Portugal. The town is about 50 kilometers north of Èvora and is surrounded by 17 wineries. With so much space in the Alentejo, why would you cram so many wineries in such as small area?
The answer is what the French call terroir, but to the rest of us as the combination of soil, climate and sunshine. Where this combination of grape growing conditions exists, you often find a lot of wineries. It is not quite as crowded with vineyards as France’s Bordeaux region, but it is the busiest sub-region for wineries in Portugal.
Encostas de Estremoz is one of the wineries surrounding the town. Here José Castro Duarte is the owner and has set up the vineyard with the help of well known wine maker Miguel Reis Catarino. They have planted Portuguese varieties Trincadeira, Aragones, Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca as well as international varieties, Alicante Bouchet and Cabernet Sauvignon. They also have another vineyard nearby with white grapes such as Rouperio, Fernão Pires and Perrum.
The resident wine-maker is somewhat different to most you would find around the world. Joana Silva Lopes is female, and at 27 years old very young for the industry. Since she started producing wines at the Encostas de Estremoz, they have won many medals at a variety of wine shows, including a gold medal at the Brussels wine show for the 2007 Reserva. Last year she visited Australia to work with a winery in Central Victoria during their harvest. At the moment she is doing the same thing in South Africa. In both cases she is learning and bringing more new-world wine making techniques to Portugal to blend with the traditions of Portuguese wine.
An example of the style Joana has brought to the winery is a pair of linked wines. Last year they released the Prodigo and Enjeitado branded wines. The basic meanings for the names are good son and bad son. The Prodigo (good son) is a blend of Touriga Nacional and Alicante Bouchet grapes, that make a smooth and elegant wine. The Entjeitado (bad son) is a blend of Trincaderia and Alicante Bouchet, making a more aggressive wine. This is a good way for people, who are new to Portuguese wine, to understand what the different grapes bring to the wine, as well as the different styles of red wines made in the Alentejo region. If you see them at the wine store, try them both and see which one you prefer, that way you can look for similar styled wines in future.
Other wines of note they produce is the 2007 Reserva, a great wine and great value if you can find it. There aren’t many of the left though. Also the 2004 Grand Escolha which is excellent value for a wine of its age and ready to drink now!
My business, Wine a Day, visits this winery together with other great vineyards on its trips from Lisbon.
