In Beira Interior, wines are influenced by altitude and large thermal amplitudes, in addition to soils with a strong water retention capacity, combining clayey soils with schist, granite and granite with quartz. The vineyards are surrounded by the Estrela and Malcata mountain ranges to the south, and Marofa to the east, between 700 and 850 meters high.
The main benefit of high-altitude viticulture is due to the cooler climate, which allows for higher total acidity levels in the wines, which are achieved thanks to the thermal amplitudes between day and night. Cool nights lead to slower, more uniform grape maturation, enhancing the concentration of aromas and flavours. During the day, greater radiation due to the proximity of the sun increases photosynthesis, adding more colour, with a not very high alcohol content.
In Beira Interior, amidst the schist soils of the Douro water basin and the granite soils of the surrounding mountains, there are many veins of quartz. Here we have better soil aeration, less nutrient retention, low production and basically better insolation due to the reflection of sunlight by the quartz, helping the maturation of the grapes.
This is a unique combination for the development of indigenous grape varieties in old vines, already perfectly adapted to the climate and soil, such as: Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Jaen (Mencia), Mourisco, Rufete and Touriga Nacional for red wines, and Fonte Cal, Rabo de Ovelha, Síria and Gouveio (Godello) for white wines. This terroir gives rise to fresh, lively wines, with intense, but also finer and more balanced aromas.
In 2011, I returned to the same winery where I had made my first harvest in 1986, in the village of Vermiosa, Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo. Among the highest vineyards in Portugal, I grow grapes, vinify and leave my Beira Interior wines to age. From the beginning, they have become one of the references that has driven this DOC region forward, with the pioneering concept of ‘High-Altitude Wines’.
