White Quartz 2024

Far to the east of the Alentejo, the landscape rises, and we find ourselves in the elevated region called Alentejo Portalegre. Here, in the small village of Reguengo, a family business produces wines from old vineyards on the Serra de São Mamede. They arrived with the mission to produce wines using old techniques, with an eye on the long wine history of the Alentejo, while also looking ahead to today's tastes and styles.

The vineyards are located in the mountains, between 600 - 700 meters, on granite soils. Here, they found old, neglected vineyards and, instead of the easy option of uprooting them, used plant material from other old vineyards to revitalize the ancient vines. The wines are therefore made from field blends of about 12 different local grape varieties; the exact composition is never entirely accurate, partly because they choose to harvest all grape varieties in a vineyard at once, just as it was done in the past. They believe this contributes to the complexity of the wines, with unripe, ripe, and overripe notes painting a full palette.

Another important part of the project is the biodynamic approach. They believe that by not using artificial additives, the vines are stronger and can better protect themselves against the challenges of nature. For example, they mention that in the most challenging years for mildew, their vineyards almost always emerge unscathed compared to their conventional neighbors. The work in the vineyard is maximized; according to them, this is the only way to create a beautiful product.

Winemaking, on the other hand, is more minimalistic; the same technique for all white and all red. White ferments in wood and ages for 1 year on the lees, red ferments in cement tanks and ages for 2 years in wood. Furthermore, there is 1 to 2 years of bottle aging at the estate before release.

We at Karakter are inspired by the dedication of this project, the clarity of its vision, and, of course, the beauty of the wines. As they say at Reguengo, "we make Serra de São Mamede, not Alentejo," wine from a small origin with great potential.