Esporão has its fingers in a lot of pies, so to speak. The Portuguese brand is involved in wine, beer, olive oil and tourism in three wine regions. Herdade do Esporão anchors Esporão firmly in the Alentejo region with its historic estate. Quinta dos Murças is located in the Douro and Quinta do Ameal represents Vinho Verde. Today we are tasting a wine new to Esporão’s Monte Velho range of wines. We received this wine as a tasting sample.
Herdade do Esporão is located in Alentejo’s sub-region of Reguengos de Monsaraz. Its geographic boundaries are unchanged since 1267. The historic 4546 acre estate has a variety of soil types, temperatures and biodiversity.
1089 acres on the estate are planted to vines. About 40 grape varieties are in production of the 189 varieties planted in the estate’s test vineyard. Since 2019 Esporão has been certified organic by Kiwa Sativa. In addition, almost 2471 acres of forest remain on the estate. Esporão works with its grower-partners to achieve organic certification of their vineyards as well.
The Monte Velho range of wines includes Monte Velho Red, White and Rosé. What makes the Reserva Red different is aging in used oak barrels for eight months; the others are made in stainless steel. This oak aging gives the wine a bit more depth.
2022 Esporão Reserva Monte Velho Red, Vinho Regional Alentejano, Portugal — dark ruby with generous aromas of blackberries, plums and dry hay. Flavors include blackberries, plums and tart red fruit. Tannins are drying in a just-medium body with fresh acidity. 13.5% abv. SRP: $18
The blend of Touriga Nacional, Aragonês (aka Tempranillo), Syrah and Trincadeira is seamless and fresh. As with the other Monte Velho wines, Esporão’s Reserva Red is sourced from grower-partners.
This is a red wine for a meal that is delightful to sip on its own. It is balanced and has excellent depth of flavor. The SRP is also very attractive. It’s a winner.
Thanks to Creative Palate Communications for organizing our tasting.
Cheers!
The QPR of the Esporao wines is truly remarkable. I was fortunately to have visited the estate in ’23. It was an amazing experience!
Yes, they are a great value. I remember following along on your trip and being very impressed by the history and winemaking. Cheers, Martin!