Casa Santos Lima

Casa Santos Lima has been a family business for many generations and was founded by Joaquim Santos Lima, who, by the turn of 19th century, was among the greatest producers and exporters of Portuguese wines. Maria João Santos Lima and José Luís Santos Lima Oliveira da Silva, granddaughter and great grandson of the founder, have been leading Casa Santos Lima since 1990, replanting most of the vines and modernizing all its productive structure.

Since 1996, Casa Santos Lima started bottling its own brands – Quinta da Espiga, Quinta das Setencostas, Palha – Canas and some varietal wines – which immediately achieved great success both in the national and international markets. Nowadays, 90% of its production is exported to 40 countries in the five continents.  This great export vocation relies mainly in the excellent price – quality ratio which is part of the company corporate vision and attitude. This has been consistently confirmed by numerous awards granted and frequent press references by the specialized press with several “Best Buy”.

The properties of the company belong to the family for more than a century and the previous generations were already great wine producers. In 1996, when José Luís Santos Lima Oliveira da Silva left his career of more than 20 years in the financial sector, the company decided to start bottling its wines. Casa Santos Lima has been, for several years, the biggest producer of Vinho Regional Lisboa and DOC Alenquer and one of the most awarded Portuguese producers in International Wine Competitions. Currently, the main destination for the company exports is Europe, although there is a significant growth in all the other Continents.

The Casa Santos Lima Estates are situated in Alenquer, 45 km up north of Lisbon, in a region where the wine production tradition is centuries old and the typical rural landscapes appear with an enormous beauty. The vineyards in gentle slopes with altitudes between 100 and 220 meters benefit from an excellent sun exposition and a climate slightly tempered by the nearby Atlantic Ocean, 26 km away from our property.

The annual average rainfall is about 700mm and it mainly occurs between October and April, giving the soil (with good water-retaining capacity), enough water for an excellent plant development. The dryness of the summer months (June, July, August and September) and average temperatures of 21 / 22 ºC (ranging from maximum daily temperatures of 27/28 ºC to minimal night temperatures of 15 / 16 ºC), allow the ideal thermic amplitude to obtain balanced maturations and great quality grapes.

The soils are mainly clay and limestone, from the Superior Jurassic period and show numerous examples of maritime fossils, as well as vestiges of dinosaurs (Apatosaurus alenquerensis).  

The vineyards re-plantation has been made at a steady pace since 1990, with the noblest Portuguese grape varieties, with a unique regional character, and also, in a smaller proportion with the best international varieties. 

In the approximately 200 hectares of vineyards of Santos Lima family, it is possible to find a huge diversity of grapes.   The company has adopted several innovative cultural methods as non-mobilisation of the soils between the vine rows, allowing the growth of a natural “green carpet”. This method, besides preventing erosion, contributes to an early maturation of the grapes and a natural reduction in average production (key factors in the production of high quality grapes). In 2003 the “Annual Award of Agriculture (Viticulture)” was given to this company by the Portuguese Ministry of Agriculture, as a result of this effort.

The winery was built in the late 30’s of the twentieth century. Over the last years, it benefited from major improvements, introduction of the most advanced technologies and installation of two modern bottling lines as well as two filling facilities for Bag in Box. The decision to plant new varieties and to maintain almost extinct Portuguese varieties has resulted in the production of one of the largest Portuguese single-variety wines collection, some of them unique, like the case of Camarate and Preto Martinho. More recently, this collection was increased with several bi-varietal wines, resulting in exciting blends of Portuguese and international grapes.

Only selected grapes of excellent quality are used in the production of the wines. Generally, the wines are well balanced, fruity, with good concentration and acidity. Traditional experience is combined with modern techniques. The harvest is done both manually and mechanically, normally between the second half of August and early October.

The red wines are fermented in vats of different capacities with automatic repumping and temperature control to 28. º C. It is used a long maceration technique with the must in contact with submerged cap for several weeks. After fermentation, most of the red wines benefit from ageing in Portuguese, French and American oak 225 litres barriques.
In the white wines vinification, the free run juice is obtained after pressing desteemed grapes and its fermentation lasts for a long period with temperature control between 14. º - 18. º Celsius.