We are in Alentejo
Vidigueira
In Monte Novo da Lisboa, in the heart of Vidigueira, on a property with 110 hectares of vineyards, the Paulo Laureano wines are produced.
We are in Alentejo, but this is a different Alentejo. It is the Alentejo of Vidigueira, with one of the oldest geological formations in the country, small slopes, and a soil of black schist (very hard), which gives the wines a very pronounced minerality and excellent freshness. The pronounced thermal amplitudes, where thermometers reach 45°C during the day and do not exceed 12°C at night, also contribute, as they lead to slower ripening. The result? Greater concentration, more color, and better acidity, essential for the balance of the wines.
The extensive wine-producing Alentejo region possesses a remarkable diversity, not always immediately perceptible.
However, there are wine-producing regions whose differentiation is undeniable. Among these is certainly Vidigueira, where wine production boasts a history of over 2000 years.
With a climate characterized by strong thermal amplitudes during grape ripening, a terrain marked by small slopes that distinguish Vidigueira from the Alentejo plains, and a unique schist soil, it leaves a strong mark of identity on the wines produced, distinctive from the rest of Alentejo.
It’s a unique terroir that also emphasizes the exclusive character of some of its most characteristic grape varieties, such as Tinta Grossa, known as “Tinta da Nossa” in Vidigueira.
It is not without reason that Vidigueira owes its name to the vineyard, specifically to the grapevine. This is certainly one of the Alentejo wine regions, and why not affirm it, Portuguese, with the greatest differentiation.
This Alentejo enclave has always been a region that has aroused enormous agricultural interest, as evidenced by the Romans who inhabited S. Cucufate, or the monks who followed them and whose convent perpetuated the name of the place to this day.
In the Vidigueira and Vila de Frades area, soils of mainly schist origin prevail. These less productive, well-drained soils accentuate a distinct mineral character that distinguishes our wines.
The orography of this region distinguishes itself from the vast plains to the south or the drier cork oak areas to the north.
The Portel mountain range (or Vidigueira escarpment) marks the entire area, creating a more humid, undulating zone with a more exuberant vegetation cover, which in turn results in a warm, milder climate.
