This wine is blended by an annual “challenge” for the winemakers to find two grape varieties which, in that year, present the best harmony and, when combined, produce a complex and distinctive wine profile.

Region:
Alentejo

Grape Varieties:
Viosinho 65% and Alvarinho 35%

Tasting Notes:
Colour: Limpid, citrine colour.
Aroma: Predominance of citrus fruits, with some grapefruit and slightly floral hints.
Palate: Fresh and creamy, slightly mineral, with a long and persistent finish

Vinification:

Moderate pressing in a pneumatic press, static must decantation, temperature controlled fermentation in stainless steel tanks at 14ºC, ageing on fine
lees, filtration.

Analytical Notes:
Alcohol Content: 14%
Total Acidity: 5.4 g/L
Reducing sugars: 1.3 g/L
pH: 3.16

Soil:
The Viosinho variety is planted in soils with granite/schist transition and a loamy texture. The Alvarinho variety is planted in soils with a loamy clay texture.

Vineyards:
Alvarinho: 8 years old. Viosinho (Wine tourism Vineyard at Herdade do Esporão): 10 years.

Harvest:
Autumn and winter were colder and wetter than the previous year, with more rain and the lowest temperatures between November and February. Nonetheless, temperatures and rain remained within the average of the past 18 years. The spring featured higher temperatures than in 2016, leading to earlier phenolic stages. From February to August/September, during the vegetative cycle, the average temperatures were higher than usual, reaching their peak on 13 July with a maximum temperature of 46.3ºC, indicating that ripening would occur earlier.