Review: Esporão Colheita Branco

Last year I reviewed several wines from the Alentejo region of Portugal, an outstanding region for wines that provide great value. If you haven’t heard of Alentejo, pronounced ah-len-TAY-zhoo, I’m not that surprised. For reasons unknown to me, Portuguese wines don’t seem to get a lot of attention in the United States. But as a wine lover and deal seeker, Portuguese wines have been on my radar for years as there are outstanding wines coming from there at unbelievably affordable prices. It seems we consumers need to keep asking for them and the wine shops will get the message eventually.

Despite the fact that you may have never heard of Alentejo, it’s about 10% larger than Napa Valley in terms of planted acres of vines, and within Portugal, about half of the still wine consumed comes from Alentejo — so, it’s well known and revered within Portugal. The name translates to mean, “beyond the Tejo,” a reference to the Tejo river, which flows east to west in Portugal and demarcates the northern border of Alentejo.

Like many of the world’s great wine regions, the soil here is poor and climate is sunny and dry… perfect conditions for growing wine grapes. However, it’s also one of the world’s most threatened wine regions due to global warming.  This is one of the reasons wine producers in the region have undertaken the Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Programme to promote sustainable practices. The program helps producers make improvements related to water conservation, disease and pest management, energy management, air quality and packaging. The program began in 2014 and producers are working toward 3rd-party certifications.

The producer of this wine, Herdade do Esporão, is one of the most progressive wineries in the region, having converted to organic growing several years ago. They also test different indigenous grape varieties in their nursery to find those best suited for changing climatic conditions.

The grape varieties in this wine include Antão Vaz, Viosinho, Alvarinho and others. The grapes were first partially fermented in concrete tanks. Then, after fermentation, the wine was left on the fine lees for 4 months, creating what the winemaker calls a micro-oxygenation effect. That’s getting a little too technical for most consumers to wrap their head around, including me, but the result is a really unique and delicious wine.

Peach, grapefruit, lemon and honeysuckle aromas give a lovely nose to this wine. The palate delivers grapefruit, lemon and mineral flavors with a creamy mouthfeel that is unexpected alongside the citrus flavors, but pleasant. The acidity adds decent vibrancy to the wine. It finishes long, with mineral and citrus flavors. This is a cool wine.

Wine: Esporão Colheita Branco
Varieties: Antão Vaz, Viosinho, Alvarinho and others
Vintage: 2018
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 88
Average price: $16.00
Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.