In 2024 I ran three tours to the Alentejo region of Portugal.
On each tour we commenced our exploration of regional wines at the Wine Corner in the Setúbal Peninsula. Part of the JM Fonseca winery, with a super restaurant (and shop!), it provided a great lunch and super regional wines: dry and fortified Moscatels, and the Perequita red blend. We were set up well for on onward journey to Évora, the very pretty capital of the Alentejo region.
The Alentejo region is very much ‘up and coming’, developing a reputation for great value wines, many made from indigenous grape varieties. We tasted reds, whites, rosés, sparkling and the famous Talha (clay pot) wines, and we covered the major sub regions of the Alentejo.
Portalegre
In the Spring we visited the historic estate of Reynolds Wine Growers, where we walked through the vineyards and tasted wines before a lunch where we were joined by Julian Reynolds, the sixth generation current owner.
In the Autumn we visited Quinta do Fonte Souto, an estate acquired by the Symington group in 2017. Our tasting confirmed the fresh style of the wines from this region which benefits from the cooling influence of altitude.
Reguengos
Reguengos de Monsaraz is less than an hour’s drive from Évora, and well worth the visit. Adega José de Sousa is an old estate rescued by JM Fonseca at the end of the last century. The focus of our visit was the 114 Talha, traditional clay pots in which wine has been made in the Alentejo for millenia. It was a winery visit like no other, and we learnt a completely new approach to winemaking and very much enjoyed tasting their wines under the guidance of their winemaker Josep.
At Herdade do Esporão a fabulous lunch provided by their Michelin-starred restaurant preceded a tour of their magnificent winery (including a few Talha, and marble lagares). Our tasting was super, including wines made from international and local varieties, of outstanding quality.
Vidigueira
The most southerly region, we drove the huge landscape of rolling hills with fields of cereals, olive trees, cork oaks and very occasionally signs of human habitation or enterprise. Huge storks nests were clutching to the top of telephone posts and trees!
At Herdade dos Lagos we had three spectacular visits, guided by Helena, the farm manager and her colleague Mariana (and assisted by some highly entertaining canine employees). This estate, which has been owned by a German family for nearly 50 years is devoted to sustainability (the third to be certified under the now well established WASP sustainability scheme), for both planetary and economic regions – they conserve water, they have solar panels, and their vineyards are surrounded by a myriad of other vegetation which provides shade, shelter from the constant winds and refuges for beneficial insects. We completed each visit with a tasting on the verandah of the old farmhouse which demonstrated the freshness of their white, rosé and sparkling wines, and the complexity of their reds.
Herdade do Malhadinha is also family owned, and here we enjoyed lunch in their beautiful restaurant, followed on each tour by a masterclass in winemaking from Nuno their chief winemaker. In the autumn the harvest was in full swing so we were particularly grateful for the generosity of time he showed us, and thoughtful answers to our questions. Only 20% of Malhadinha wines are exported so it was fantastic to taste their wines and quite a few bottles were purchased to return in hold luggage!
Redondo
While only one of our groups was able to partake of some grape picking and stomping (yes we really did get into the tank), each tour enjoyed a wonderful visit with Casa Relvas. In the autumn we visited the original herdade, bought by the Relvas family in 1997 as a holiday home. Now making 20,000 bottles, a neighbour’s suggestion that they might like to plant some grapes on their high quality soils was clearly a good one!
Ana Santos hosted all our tours – even in April when our visit coincided with Democracy Day in Portugal and a major public holiday. Our tastings were spectacular – including a vertical tasting of their reserva blend, from 2010 to 2021.
As mentioned above Évora is a lovely town, with a variety of architecture including a Roman temple and aqueduct! In the autumn we particularly enjoyed the antics of the students whose term was just starting at the university and were clearly having the best time. Our final dinner on each tour was at Dom Joaquim, a typical restaurant where the wine and conversation flowed and toasts were made.