Alenquer

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The finest vineyard plots develop on calcareous and Mediterranean soils distributed across hillsides, knolls, valleys, and mountain passes.
• Vineyards must be established on normal or para-barros brown or red Mediterranean soils derived from fine sandstones, sands, or mudstones.
• There are also brown or red calcareous soils formed from marls and fine sandstones, considered well suited to the production of quality wines.
• The region's climate is decisively shaped by a surrounding mountain barrier to the north and west, positioned between the production zone and the Atlantic Ocean.
• These ranges check the Atlantic influence and facilitate Mediterranean penetration, tempering the moderate characteristics of the Atlantic climate with the sun-drenched aridity of the Mediterranean.

• Alenquer was taken from the Moors in the twelfth century and received its first municipal charter in the following century, and was the birthplace of Damião de Góis in 1501.
• The region has been known for its white wines since the fourteenth century, when they were already highly prized in England, and later achieved success at the London Exhibition of 1890.

• The red wines are vinous, lively, and bright in youth, becoming intense and well balanced, developing a rare bouquet when rested and aged.
• The white wines, particularly those from mid-slope sites with a south-westerly aspect, are aromatic, full-bodied, and persistent on the palate, reflecting the Mediterranean influence on grape ripening.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the specification (caderno de especificações).

All appellations in Portugal

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-PT-A1468
• Official trade body site — Comissão Vitivinícola da Região de Lisboa