Cabeças do Reguengo
Portalegre, Alentejo
Some of Portugal’s Oldest Vines
In 2009, João Afonso purchased an abandoned farm in Portalegre, a northern satellite of Alentejo that could not be more different from the rest of the region. Alentejo is largely defined by its huge, flat open vistas and many of the biggest wine estates in Portugal. Herdade, which literally translates into “large farm” is the most common title which amends wineries from the region.
Portalegre, however, sits on the Serra de São Mamede, a granitic mountain near the Spanish border. Most vineyards are tiny plots that sit between 500-700 meters of elevation. The high elevations and mountainous slopes have largely protected the region from the industrial scales and methods that define most of Alentejo. Instead, Portalegre is a place that has long existed on the margins of the Portuguese wine industry, where for nearly its entire history, there hasn’t been much wine “industry” at all. Instead, Portalegre’s viticulture exists mostly on a personal scale, in which vines were planted in family gardens along with any number of other fruit, nut, and olive trees. Within these gardens, which often abutt old family homes or taverns, are collections of many of Portugal's oldest vines, many planted before phylloxera, gnarled and hunched low to the ground.
Cabeças do Reguengo is a project which, at its core, protects and vinifies these unique vinous treasures. All of the vineyards are maintained by hand with organic and biodynamic methods, harvested by hand, and vinified as simply as possible. They are an entirely unique portrait of Portuguese viticulture, and also some of the best wines made in Portugal.
Want to see our current selection of Cabeças do Reguengo?
Give Lewis a call at (609) 582-6030 or email him.