Setúbal
Styles
Principal grape varieties
The Portuguese regulator (IVV) does not distinguish principal vs accessory varieties — every authorised casta is listed together in the caderno de especificações.
Terroir
Natural factors
- Predominantly sandy soils, light in texture, with patches of heterogeneity over short distances.
- Mixed subtropical and Mediterranean/maritime climate, with low rainfall and moderate thermal amplitude.
- The climate is shaped by the proximity of the sea, the Sado and Tejo basins, and the relief of the serra da Arrábida.
- Territory bounded by the estuaries of the Tejo and the Sado, south of Lisboa.
Human factors
- Viticulture in the Península de Setúbal predates the founding of Portugal; grape seeds from the 8th century BC found in Almada link the introduction of the vine to the Phoenicians.
- In 1381 Moscatel was being exported to England; in 1855 José Maria da Fonseca won a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris; stocks have been held since the 1880 harvest.
Product characteristics
- Moscatel Roxo loses its colour with age, but gains a balsamic complexity that compensates for the visual loss.
- Moscatel Roxo is described as a highly aromatic and sugar-rich variety, yet low-yielding and sensitive.
Terroir / wine link
- The mixed climate (subtropical and Mediterranean/maritime) and the light-textured sandy soils shape the aromatic profile and structure of the fortified wines of DO Setúbal.
Facts drawn from the cahier's terroir-link section (Lien au terroir) by automatic interpretation — see the the caderno de especificações.
Sources
- eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-PT-A1457
- Official trade body site — Comissão Vitivinícola Regional da Península de Setúbal