Five years after an exceptional harvest, and for only the fourth time in four decades, Esporão is releasing its most iconic wine – Torre do Esporão 2017.
In the words of our Chairman, João Roquette, “Torre is when everything goes according to plan. It’s our reason for doing what we do. It’s where we start and where, on rare occasions, we end up. We always need to keep in mind that this is what we want to do, to aim as high as we possibly can, to dream and then to chase after that dream.”
Five years after an outstanding harvest at our three Alentejo estates — Herdade do Esporão, Herdade dos Perdigões and Lavradores property — Torre 2017 represents the quintessence of Esporão wines. Each Torre results from the sum of many details. It has its own personality, serves as a real, palpable milestone along our path, and represents what we believe in. This strong identity derives from a combination of the individual character of each vineyard and origin, but also from the passionate work of a team of people who have tended the vines and the wine throughout their long journey.
Originating from five vineyards and four varieties, the wine is made up of Aragonez, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional and Alicante Bouschet grapes planted in a selection of prime vineyard plots. It represents our ambition to make the best wines that nature can provide, in a responsible and inspiring way.
Throughout the harvest, we meticulously monitored the rates of ripening, so that each parcel of land and each grape variety was harvested separately, according to their characteristics and where they were grown. The Aragonez grapes began their fermentation in marble lagares with foot treading and then moved to concrete vats for malolactic fermentation before being transferred to 5000 litre vats.
Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional were co-fermented in marble lagares with foot treading, then underwent malolactic fermentation in French oak barrels, where they remained for 18 months. Alicante Bouschet grapes from two separate blocks fermented separately in concrete vats, and their malolactic fermentation took place in new French oak barrels for 18 months.
The result is a wine that stands out for its character, sophistication, aromatic complexity, subtlety, and density. A wine worth waiting for.