Alentejo: a study in eight wines, from a region focused on sustainability
Website: https://sustentabilidade.vinhosdoalentejo.pt/en/wines-of-alentejo-sustainability-programme
The Alentejo is an important wine region in southern Portugal, with 23 000 hectares of vines, spread over a large landscape (2.3 million hectares) also dominated by wheat fields and cork oak forests. It’s also quite diverse. Here’s a selection of eight Alentejo wines I made for a one-day conference on the Alentejo’s sustainability scheme in October 2025 (this is a region that has a well thought-out and developed sustainability scheme called WASP).
Rocim Ohlo do Mocho Branco 2024 Vidiguera, Alentejo, Portugal
12% alcohol. Antão Vaz, single vineyard, 24 h cold maceration then fermented in a mix of concrete and oak, and then aged in 500 litre French oak. Linear, taut and mineral. This is bright and vivid with high acidity and crystalline citrus fruit, with some pear and peach richness around the fringes. Zippy and precise with a slight saltiness on the finish. 94/100
Malhadinha Branco 2023 Alentejo, Portugal
13.5% alcohol. This is a blend of Arinto 45%, Alvarinho 20%, Viosinho 15%, Viognier 15%, Chardonnay 5%. Fermented and aged for 10 months in French oak. Lovely vitality and energy here with nice citrus fruit as well as some pear and peach. Great balance here with richness and precision combined to good effect. 93/100
Esporão Branco Reserva 2023 Alentejo, Portugal
14% alcohol. Organically farmed Antão Vaz, Arinto and Roupeiro, 75% stainless steel, 25% French and American oak. This is lively and really fruity with an intense pithy edge to the bright pear and lemony fryut, as well as some waxy hints and a touch of well integrated oak. 92/100
Fundação Eugénio de Almeida Cartuxa Branco Colheita 2023 Alentejo, Portugal
This is Antão Vaz, Arinto and Roupeiro from granitic soils, this is aged in stainless steel. Powerful but still focused with nice depth of fruit, showing some pear and melon richness, with a lovely acid line. Crystalline, with some spicy detail. 92/100
António Maçanita Fita Preta Os Paulistas Chão dos Eremitas 2021 Alentejo, Portugal
14% alcohol. This is a blend of Tinta Carvalha, Moreto, Castelão, Alfrocheiro and Trincadeira from a vineyard planted in 1970, and it’s a homage to the Alentejo of old. From granitic soils with some active limestone at 260 m. 30% whole cluster, long maceration, aged 18 months in used French oak. Complex spicy cherry and berry fruits with some savoury notes, tending to elegance. Juicy cherries and plums with a spicy overlay. Complex and layered. 95/100
Herdade do Grous Tinto Reserva 2023 Alentejo, Portugal
13.5% alcohol. Alicante Bouschet (50%), Tinta Miúda (30%), Touriga Nacional (20%). 16 months in French oak. Fresh and linear with elegant black cherry fruits, as well as some spice and pepper. It’s ripe and textural but shows good definition. Very stylish, with a bit of tannic grip on the finish. 94/100
Mouchão Tinto 2017 Alentejo, Portugal
14.5% alcohol. 85% Alicante Bouschet, 15% Trincadeira, fermented in lagares and then aged in 5000 litre tonéis for 3-4 years. This is rich and layered but also restrained, showing complex spicy notes as well as some tannic structure, with a sour cherry twist on the finish. Fresh but complex and showing nice evolution with some hints of earth and minerals, finishing juicy. 94/100
José de Sousa Puro Talha 2015 Alentejo, Portugal
This famous winery was for a long time the custodian of the talha tradition, making wines in large amphorae made of local clay. They have 114 talhas. These are now fashionable again. This a blend of 50% Grand Noir, 30% Trincadeira, 10% Moreto and 10% Aragonez, planted 1952. It’s 30% whole cluster, 70% hand destemmed, with fermentation in talha then ageing in talha or 500 litre chestnut barrels. The remaining stems are fermented with juice in small 300 litre clay amphorae, and this portion is then used as seasoning at blending. Notes of earth, herbs, spice, pepper and red cherries and stewed strawberries, with some tannic grip. This is substantial with nice structure and a strongly savoury character that makes it distinctive and gastronomic. 93/100
