The barrel tunnel and the cellars
Esporão’s large barrel tunnel, which is one of the tourist attractions of Herdade do Esporão and resembles a 15-metre wide metro tunnel, is buried 12-metres deep, providing the best natural temperature and humidity without the need for artificial control or energy and environmental costs.
It houses approximately 1,500 225-litre bordalesa barrels, about 70% of which are American oak, with the remainder French oak. We replace approximately 30% of these barrels annually and they have an expected lifetime of 3 to 4 years. In addition to the large barrel tunnel, there are also side niches where we keep and age wine after it has been bottled, plus a room where we keep a collection of our best vintages.
The area also has a refrigerated cellar for stabilisation and storage, thus providing the best conditions for Esporão’s whites to mature.