Visit the winery and shop: free
Visit and taste 4 wines (groups> 6 persons): 12 € (paired with cheeses and sausages) + 10% discount at the store


Monte da Raposinha is located in the county Ponte de Sôr, in the northern Alentejo, just 800 metres downstream from the Montargil reservoir, a distinctive symbol of the region.

The estate has been in the same family since the late 18th century. The current name, Monte da Raposinha (Little Fox Estate) pays homage to the affection of a father for his daughter, as this was the childhood nickname the owner´s father used to call her by.

The fertile lands of the estate are bordered by the Ribeira de Sôr stream and by irrigation canals from the dam, and have welcomed the replanting of grape vines which had been cultivated in earlier times.

In addition to setting up a week-end home, the couple Maria do Rosário and Nuno Ataíde, psychologist and judge, who were living in Coimbra, decided to adventure into grape growing and planted 11 hectares of vines in 2004.

The first harvest took place in 2007 and, under the technical guidance of winemaker Carlos Magalhães and the watchful eye of the owners, the first wines were made in a warehouse built years earlier to house farming equipment.

The success of this first production was immediate. All the red wine was awarded with the only “Talha de Bronze” (bronze medal) given by the Confraria dos Enófilos do Alentejo at the Os Melhores Vinhos do Alentejo contest. The wine was kept in barrels and was bottled in November 2008 under the label Monte da Raposinha – ATHAYDE 2007 Grande Escolha, a term used to indicate the very best wines. It also received the Silver Medal at the Concurso de Vinhos Engarrafados do Alentejo 2008, a contest amongst finished Alentejo wines.

The wine Monte da Raposinha – ATHAYDE 2007, with a production of 8, 000 standard bottles and 198 magnums, brought home the Silver Medal at the International Wine Contest in Brussels in 2009 and 2010, as well as a Bronze Medal at the International Wine and Spirits Competition in 2009 and 2010.

Monte da Raposinha also won Honourable Mention for its 2008 vintage barrel matured red wine at the 18th edition of the Os Melhores Vinhos do Alentejo contest organised by the Confraria dos Enófilos do Alentejo. This wine was bottled in December 2009 as a Grande Escolha, under the label Monte da Raposinha – ATHAYDE 2008.

A Reserva white wine was then launched, the Monte da Raposinha – ATHAYDE 2009, made predominately with Chardonnay (85%) and Arinto.

The Monte da Raposinha red wines start with the entry level Monte da Raposinha – NÓS and extend to the high-end Monte da Raposinha – FURTIVA LAGRIMA, whose first vintage (2007) was released in 2010.

The original winery currently serves as a cellar for temperature-controlled barrel ageing. The winery began production in July 2008 and led to an increase in both fermentation and ageing capacity, so that 60,000 bottles were produced in 2008 and 100,000 in 2009, an amount judged to be ideal to maintain the quality desired.

All of this progress has rewarded this family business, enabling it to meet the challenge of producing quality wines that not only pay homage to the people of Montargil, but also to the memory of family gone and that to come.

 

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