Alentejo - Herdade Aldeia de Cima

Herdade Aldeia de Cima was founded in 1758, but its cultural and traditional roots date back to much earlier times. The Herdade Aldeia de Cima reflects the voices of Phoenicians, Visigoths, Romans and especially the Arabs, who arrived in the 8th century and dominated the region for 500 years, still influencing the culture of the Alentejo. Some scholars describe the Alentejo as having the mind of a Roman in the body of an Arab.

Luisa Amorim and Francisco Rêgo create wines that preserve the history of the place. Marketed two years after the grape harvest, production is small and the target is to reach around 100,000 bottles. Herdade Aldeia de Cima's classic and elegant wines maintain the estate's distinctive character and are immensely complex, drawn from heterogeneous soils and native Portuguese grape varieties.

This same respect for the culture of the local village is reflected in the brand image developed by the designer Eduardo Aires. Whatever the path chosen it was essential to transmit the spirit of the Alentejo. During their first meeting, while Luisa was speaking, Eduardo sketched a few lines on a sheet of white paper that corresponded to the façade of a whitewashed house, in the small, dilapidated village, tracing the outline of the door that invites us to experience life in the Aldeia de Cima. Together they started from scratch and focused on the essential - the meaning of the territory that, since 1758, has explored a historical legacy marked by five centuries of Arab culture. In turn, the colours they chose – found throughout the estate and in various details in the interiors – were the green leaf of the cork oak tree and the terracotta red of the clay soil that saw it grow, complemented by the effect of the whitewashed walls on the paper of each wine label.

The lands of the Serra do Mendro are rocky, with a rugged morphology and unusual landscape, with huge schist outcrops, in a place where daily temperatures may vary by as much as 20º C. In this respect, the zone resembles distant wine regions, such as Rutherford or To Kalon, in the Napa Valley, California.

Guided by a philosophy of deep respect for the natural resources, we preserve the less productive soils and integrate their different crops in a sound ecological manner, in light of the fact that fog and winds from the Atlantic ocean reach the slopes and the interior of the valleys at varying speeds, originates a wide array of microclimates and, consequently, micro-terroirs.

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The grape varieties and diversity of the 32 microterroirs

We start in the highest zone of the Serra do Mendro, overlooking a vast horizon, where we can marvel at the vast Alentejo, including olive groves and vineyards, vegetable gardens, fields and the small towns and villages of Vidigueira and Beja. Then we will pass the plateau of the Aldeia de Cima, located between 289 and 300 meters above sea level, where we want to explore the diversity of the soils with three vineyards: the Vinha da Família, Vinha de Sant'Anna and Vinha d´Aldeya.

To preserve the typical regional characteristics of this warm region, which has been producing wine for more than 2000 years, we have selected indigenous grape varieties perfectly adapted to the region, with 65% red and 35% white grape varieties, with a dedication to the viticulture in an integrated production method that will later be converted into organic production. It is thanks to this multitude of natural factors, in a unique context of 32 micro-terroirs, that the profile of the wines of Herdade Aldeia de Cima was sought to taste the Alentejo in a single bottle.

The diversity of the four vineyards

With a unique biodiversity, the highlands of the Serra do Mendro consist of a unique expanse of shale from the Iberian Massif.

A team of geologists has studied the geological heritage of the Herdade Aldeia de Cima to choose the best terroirs to plant 20 hectares of vineyards in the Serra do Mendro, which separates the Alto Alentejo from the Baixo Alentejo and the highest point in the Herdade Aldeia de Cima, 424 meters above sea level.

We identified four zones in the highest parts of the mountains and the plateau in the Serra do Mendro to obtain a naturally fresh microclimate, in an increasingly warmer Mediterranean climate. We planted 20 hectares according to the land level curves and divided them into 22 lots, most with less than 1.5 hectares of vines per plot.

The vineyards of Vinha d'Aldeya and Vinha de Sant'Anna have been established on the plateau

The soil on the plateau of the Serra do Mendro, next to the winery in Aldeia de Cima, consists mainly of slate gray with shades of green slate, which is unique in the Iberian peninsula. The soil also contains granite, gabbros and quartzite which will influence the structure, perfume and body of the wines produced here. The south and south-west slopes are excellent locations for the production of classic wines, rich, intense, concentrated wines with great sun exposure. The north-facing slopes are expected to produce wines of greater mineral intensity, freshness and fresh fruit, typical of wines grown in shady areas

The vineyard, Vinha de Família, is a reproduction of old farming techniques, located on a plot of land of about 0.1 hectare next to the winery

Planted in a 1 m square and using an archaic training system based on goblet training, the vines - which do not have a wire grid and have a "creeping" appearance - are surrounded by the same microclimate. The vines' vegetable system protects the grapes from the intense summer heat. The polychromatic plots, each with their specific properties, provide a balanced and resilient plant puzzle that combats pests and diseases. They can be tilled using animal traction and minimal fertilization, based on annual legume plantings, pruning, weeding and splitting. It is a Mediterranean, humanized vineyard - exuberant and full of character.