Francisco Fino was involved in the success of the famous Tapada do Chaves, in Portalegre, at the end of the last century. Today, the family owns the Monte da Penha estate. When you taste these wines, you will begin to understand why the Tapada do Chaves earned such cult status during the 1990s.
Wines from Monte da Penha have recuperated that legacy, that historical understanding of winemaking in the northern Alentejo. Monte da Penha wines are remarkably typical of the Alentejo, they are refreshing and stand out amongst those that are merely fruit-forward wines. They are expressive. They have personality, but most of all, they are wines that offer pure, hedonistic pleasure.
Don’t pass them up, neither the whites nor the reds. The climate and the soils contribute to producing an excellent quality wine.
The vineyard is planted on gentle slopes that enjoy high sunlight exposure. The altitude varies from between 450 to 600 metres. The granitic and calcareous clayey soils have a lot of rock. The unique mesoclimate of the Serra da São Mamede, with its rainy winters and hot summers, confers unequalled personality to the wines.
The estate has a total of 22 hectares of vineyard. 12 hectares were planted in 1987 – ten with red varieties (Trincadeira, Aragonez, Alicante Bouschet and Moreto) and two with white grapes (Fernão Pires, Roupeiro, Arinto and Trincadeira das Pratas). Ten more hectares were added in 1999 with Aragonez, Alicante Bouschet and Touriga Nacional.
In order to achieve the maximum possible quality, every task at Monte da Penha (such as leaf stripping, pruning, harvest and grape selection on arrival in the winery) is carefully performed by highly specialised experts.
The manor house dating from the late 18th century was built in the Portuguese Baroque style made famous by Italian architect Nasoni. Farm buildings were added on to the manor house later. More recently, these buildings have been remodelled whilst maintaining their traditional character. They now serve as offices, winery, shop and reception centre.
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