2022 Herdade Penedo Gordo Tinto Reserva

40% Alicante Bouschet, 30% Touriga Naciona, 20% Aragonez and 10% Trincadeira from 16 year old vines in the subregion of Borba. Night harvested, fully destemmed and cold macerated and fermented in small stainless-steel tanks with indigenous yeast.  Aged for four months in Portuguese and French oak. 14% alcohol.

This wine is rich and full bodied, with tons of rich blackberries, black plum and black cherries with savory notes of white pepper, caramel, toast, creamy vanilla oak and rose petals. On the palate, the wine has a rich and luxurious texture with balanced acidity and soft tannins. Super smooth. 

In 1985, Esteve Montiero decided to turn his successful family business of grape growing into winemaking. Today the Monteiro family is one of the top viticulturists and wine producers in D.O. Vinho Verde and D.O. Alentejo, dedicating themselves to producing quality grapes and wines with a focus on sustainability and modern wine making. ‘Penedo Gordo’ (meaning “fat boulder”) is the name given to this Alentejo property in the south of Portugal long ago because of the large granite boulder that sits up on the hill looking down on the vineyards. They presently farm almost 300 acres.

Alentejo, located in the southeastern part, encompasses nearly a third of the land area of Portugal. Alentejano has historically been known for cork and wheat farms until the E.U. invested in the region, which led to improvements in irrigation, viticulture, and winemaking. The landscape of Alentejo consists of undulating plains and gentle hills, with serious mountains only in the north east. Soils vary greatly: schist, pink marble, granite, limestone, often laid upon a sub-layer of water-retaining clay.