Alentejo, one of the biggest wine tourism regions of Portugal, has around 263 wine producers. The wine regions count with popular wine brands such as Esporão, Cartuxa, and Adega Mayor. However, there is much more to discover than just these big traditional wine producers. For example, the uncomparable biological wine producer: Courelas da Torre.
While traveling around Alentejo’s wine route, more specifically in Évora, we encountered a small wine producer that has a unique and modern way of making their wines: 100% organic wine brand.
Courelas da Torre is a quite recent wine producer from Alentejo, most precisely Redondo region near Évora. They count with 1 wine cellar with approximately 1200 hectares, and 2 wine stores in the middle of Évora. One is a wine and gift shop where you can buy regional products such as acorn cookies, olive oils, pennyroyal liqueurs, and much more products that the region has to offer.
Here, in Courelas da Torre Delicatessen, we were told to go to their Wine Tasting bar that was located nearby called Courelas da Torre Bio Gourmet, or commonly known by “Ginjinha de Évora”.
Since we were on our Wine Tour day, we thought “Wine not?”, right?
Entry Range: Rosé, White and Red 100% certified biological wines
This biological winery focuses on the production of organic wines. Therefore, the wine tasting started with three initial wines, also called “entry range wines”. We had one white wine, one rosé, and one red wine. Note that, Rosé wines are still quite rare in Portugal when compared to other wine countries like France, but, they are gaining a lot of popularity in this Lusitan region.
My highlight goes to the Rosé, incredibly fruited had a wild berries fruits aroma. With wine grapes varieties coming from Aragonez, Touriga Nacional, and Alicante Bouschet, the wine aroma was very intense and presented a red intense color. Tasting like fruit, with a soft touch of jasmine, blueberries, and wild strawberries. A seductive and unique wine that is hard to just buy one bottle to bring home. And, most impressive of all it only costs 10€ for such a unique experience.
The red wine was also quite unique. With Aragonez, Trincadeira, and Alicante Bouschet, the medium-bodied red wine tasted like chocolate, red fruits, and spices. Incredibly enjoyable to the palate, this wine would combine amazingly with typical Alentejo regional dishes, such as “Açorda” or “Ensopado”.
We have also tasted one premium red wine in which the difference was that the premium one had been resting on French Oak Barrels for one year, and six months on the bottle. This high-bodied wine was truly a unique kind of taste.
Innovating in Organic wines: The new Natural wines
The organic wine producer presented two distinctive approaches to organic wine:
- Firstly, organic wines that are certified as biological since the vineyards do not include any pestisides or toxic substances in its growth process.
- Secondly, much more natural range of wines that did not include neither toxic substances to make vineyards grow, nor, any sulfites or other substances during the winemaking process.
These 100% natural wines were particularly different. At least, I had never seen never similar before.
FUN FACT! These wines are that they are so natural that they have a deposit at the bottom of the bottle. This deposit is created a short time after a few months of being bottled. However, its amazing flavor clearly shows that the “view” is not the only sense that counts in Enology. Sometimes what does not look good to the eye can have a lot more potential to the flavor senses.
The so-called Natural Wines do not include any sulfites during wine production. The wines do not rest in barrels and, must be consumed quickly after it is produced.
They can be preserved until 2-3 months, but once it is open, it is recommended to drink them immediately. I am sure that, after tasting it, it would not even be possible to leave a drop!
The Covid-19 “Pandemus” special edition
The covid-19 pandemic has been a painful topic in our lives for almost two years now.
However, there is always something good in bad experiences. This became the 2020 reality of Courelas da Torre winery. The winemaker presented us with an incredible edition in which only 1200 bottles were produced. This special edition was created during the pandemic.
After going through some difficulties, Courelas da Torre winemaker created made a choice: to transform a hard moment in which the world was living, into a unique wine with the only grapes that were harvested in 2020.
This limited edition has a special label done by a painter artist that shows exactly what 2020-2021 have been for everyone: Masks, sadness, social isolation, and limited grapes harvest.
The wine is called “Pandemus” due to the unique environment in which the wine has been made, the collector’s special edition won’t be forgotten for sure.
Typical liqueurs from Alentejo and Portugal
At last but not least, Courelas da Torre also produces liqueurs and brandy. Likewise other Portugal wine regions, the winemaker produces cherry and pennyroyal liqueur, sweet but very tasteful liqueur-based drinks. My highlight goes to the Pennyroyal liqueur. This refreshing drink tastes like mint but without the mint intensity that is not pleasant for everyone. The wine cellar also produced a brandy called “Aguardente de Bagaceira”. All three are organic wines and do not include any chemical product.
