Herdade do Esporao

November 27 stayed forever in our memory. The feelings and emotions of a tradition, now considered Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, were celebrated, singing.

In the 13th century, in the district of Monsaraz, there was a place called Fonte do Esporão, which bordered the district of Portel. João Peres de Aboim, who was a descendent of Egas Moniz, Mordomo-Mor (First Official of the Portuguese Royal House), an important figure of Afonso III’s time and a feudal lord of Portel, had coveted this land and was able to buy it in 1264. After annexing Fonte do Esporão to other lands that had been given to him by the municipalities of Monsaraz and Portel, in 1267, João de Aboim created Defesa do Esporão, one of the oldest properties in southern Portugal.

In the centuries that followed, Esporao remained in the possession of descendants of the same family, who were also powerful figures of the realm. After the Majorat was established in 1427, Defesa do Esporão would be protected from divisions or sales, this being the main reason its boundaries have remained intact until today. One of Esporão’s firstMorgados, was Álvaro Mendes de Vasconcelos, grandson of Mem Rodrigues de Vasconcelos, Master of the Order of St. James and commander of the famous Ala dos Namorados at the Battle of Aljubarrota.

The second half of the 15th century and the 16th and 17th centuries were crucial periods in the estate’s history. Key figures in the realm, noble diplomats to the courts of D. João II, D. Manuel, D. João III and during the Filipina dynasty, the Mendes de Vasconcelos were involved in significant episodes of Portuguese history. It was on the orders of this family that the Esporão estate’s most important buildings were constructed: the Tower, the Nossa Senhora dos Remédios Chapel and the Arch. It was also during the time of the Mendes de Vasconcelos that the Esporão Chapel was instituted in Évora Cathedral with papal authorisation, whose arch of 1529 is one of the first examples of the Renaissance in the city. Its famous Flemish-influenced retable by painter Pedro Nunes de Évora was created in the 17th century as the result of a wish contained in the will of Helena Noronha da Costa, spouse of the 6thMorgado of Esporão, Manuel de Vasconcelos, counsellor to Filipe III of Portugal.

The end of the Majorat would only occur in the 19th century, the result of the Liberal Revolution, and it was due to Mouzinho da Silveira’s legislation that all ties to the Ancien Régime were abolished, which occurred, in practice, during the second half of the century. Even so, now with no protective domain, the estate maintained its boundaries in the hands of the Counts of Alcáçovas until it was acquired by the FINAGRA company in 1973, which planned to plant an expanse of vineyards that would later produce Esporão wines.

These are brief chapters in the rich history of this southern domain after it became a medieval defence; however, the history of the terrain goes well beyond this and Esporão has been occupied by people since pre-history. Some Neolithic sites have already been found and investigated, like the Esporão Tower settlement, and we know that there were Megalithic monuments and an Esporão dolmen, which was mentioned in the foral (Royal administrative document) for Monsaraz during the time of D. Afonso in the 13th century.

These are strong and rich lands; rich in history, heritage, life and poetry. Let us return to the beginning, and always to the poet and troubadour, João Peres de Aboim. From his poetic and amorous adventures, we have legends and poems that continue to inspire us today and which inspired Alandra, the Moorish princess, with whom he fell in love and dedicated such beautiful love songs…

Portugal is privileged to have the second largest number of native grape varieties, which exist nowhere else in the world and which make Portuguese wines so unique and original. Although the exact number of varieties in Portugal is not certain, it is thought to range between 250 and 280. At Herdade do Esporão, we currently have 194 different varieties planted, of which 37 account for virtually all production. These 37 fundamental varieties are those best adapted to the Alentejo, the majority having been in the region for many years. We have been pioneers in introducing certain varieties, which have become real calling cards of Alentejo winemaking, grapes such as Touriga Nacional and Verdelho, which have given identity and quality to Alentejo wines. Approaching forty years old, some of these vines are of an age that they can be classified as old vines.

We take the preservation of environmental diversity, biodiversity of the vineyard and the surrounding environment very seriously, which is why we are currently in the process of converting to organic production methods (duly certified), surpassing the phase of integrated production we are currently involved in. Despite the vineyard’s size, which covers an area of 450 hectares when at full production capacity, we manage to maintain production control on a human scale. Because of this, we have a team of around one hundred people who have worked full-time in the vineyard for years, thus dispensing with the need for casual labour. It is a proud and loyal group that has created a true sense of responsibility and affection towards the vineyard, striving to select the best grapes during each harvest. Among the many tools to support daily decision-making in relation to the operation and monitoring of the vineyard, which is the responsibility of Amândio Rodrigues, there are weather stations and sophisticated probes that measure soil moisture and regulate irrigation according to the real hydric stress of each plot.

If the vineyards represent the lungs of Herdade do Esporão, then the winery is the heart that beats to the pace of the grape harvest and the sequence of tasks defined by the year’s schedule and the winemaking team. We built our first winery in 1985 and it was designed to function almost exclusively with the help of gravity. It was soon considered to be one of the most advanced and sophisticated in Portugal, complemented by tunnels and underground cellars that allowed us to control temperature and humidity naturally. We decided to build a second separate winery in 2002, which allowed us separate vinifications, keeping the first winery for red wine and the new one for whites. Thelagares (traditional presses) winery, which was built in 1999, is for our most exclusive wines and where no detail that determines the quality of great wines is overlooked.