If there’s one thing we’ve learned from Torre do Esporão, it’s that patience is a virtue. It’s a virtue that we’ve been perfecting over the past twenty years of hard, meticulous work. In more than three decades this is only the fourth time that this wine has been bottled. Following on from the 2004, 2007 and 2011 harvests, now comes the 2017 edition.
More than a complex, finely crafted wine, Torre do Esporão is the ultimate expression of the singularities of the year, the unmatched characteristics of our land, and the expertise of its creators. Made to last, it represents Esporão’s ambition to make the best wines that nature can provide, in a responsible and inspiring way.
2017 was an exceptional year at Herdade do Esporão. Even before the harvest, we were already hopeful that the year might prove worthy of becoming a Torre year. The truly great years stand out for their remarkable capacity to excite us, to surpass our expectations, to generate wines with a tremendous potential for evolution and for ageing. Experience has taught us that as time passes, Torre do Esporão will gain extraordinary elegance, aromatic complexity and mouth presence.
This wine incorporates the produce of five magnificent vineyards and four grape varieties. Its distinctive personality results from the sum of the individual character of each vineyard in its particular setting. Understanding and knowing how to interpret each of these personalities, in a year as remarkable as 2017 at Herdade do Esporão, proved a great challenge for our winemaking team. They meticulously monitored, first, the grapes in the vineyards and then the evolution of Torre do Esporão in the barrel and in the bottle.
The resulting wine owes much to the generosity of the vineyards, but also to the passionate work of a vast team of people who have tended the vines and the wine along their journey.
RETROSPECTIVE – THE BEGINNING
The harvest of 2004 had all the features necessary to bring such a wine to fruition. After three years of bottle ageing, our first Torre do Esporão, made predominantly with Touriga Nacional, was ready.
The harvest of 2004 had all the features necessary to bring such a wine to fruition. After three years of bottle ageing, our first Torre do Esporão, made predominantly with Touriga Nacional, was ready.
In 2007, a very cool spring allowed our grapes to ripen slowly and gradually, and then mild harvest temperatures left their mark on the wine’s profile. That year, which proved to be one of the best of the decade, gave birth to our second Torre do Esporão, showcasing predominantly Aragonez grapes.
Nature, particularly the weather, dictates when we are able to produce such a wine, and these are the main factors that set a year apart. We had to wait until 2011 for our next opportunity to make a Torre.
Torre do Esporão 2011 is composed from three distinct grape varieties, whose unique characteristics we have spent 40 years studying closely and learning to craft in our particular style. The diversity of granite, schist and sandy loam soils at Herdade do Esporão, where we plant Alicante Bouschet, Syrah and Touriga Franca, are crucial to the identity and the richness of the wine.
The four vintages of Torre do Esporão that bear our mark also share the same story and the same birthplace, in the lands of Herdade do Esporão. The years 2004, 2007, 2011 and 2017 share key features, namely their structure, solidity and ageing potential. 2017 has all these characteristics, yet it stands out even more for its sophistication and elegance.
Harvest after harvest, the bar has risen. It’s tremendously rewarding, when the time comes to taste it, and the wine lives up to all our expectations and justifies all our hard work. Patience truly is a virtue.