Adega Monte Branco

The Alentejo is Portugal's great sun-baked interior, a vast plateau stretching south from the Tagus river to the Algarve, characterised by cork oak forests, marble-rich soils, and a continental climate that delivers intensely hot summers and cold winters. It is a landscape of scale and silence, and the wines it produces reflect that: full-bodied, rich in fruit, and often achieved at prices that their quality does not suggest.

Adega do Monte Branco was founded in 2004 by Luis Louro in Estremoz, one of the Alentejo's most distinguished winemaking towns, known for its white marble quarries and a microclimate slightly cooler than the regional average. Luis grew up in wine: his father, Miguel Louro, is the respected producer behind Quinta do Mouro. After six years working alongside his father and a formative internship in Sonoma County, California, Luis started his own project at the age of 23. The modern winery building was completed in 2006.

The estate manages approximately 48 hectares of vines at elevations between 360 and 430 metres, on soils of schist and limestone. The altitude and the exposure of the vineyards provide cooler nights than the Alentejo floor, and it is that thermal range that preserves the freshness and acidity that lift the Alento wines above the regional norm.

The Alento range begins with the Tinto, blending Aragonez, Trincadeira, Alicante Bouschet, and Touriga Nacional into a garnet-hued red of vibrant fruit and firm, ripe tannins. The Alento Branco, made from Arinto, Antao Vaz, and Roupeiro, is fermented in stainless steel to preserve its citrus freshness and delicate minerality. The Reserva tier takes both wines a step further: the Reserva Branco spends six months in used 300-litre French oak barrels, gaining volume and complexity while retaining its mineral character. The Reserva Tinto, a structured blend of Aragonez, Alicante Bouschet, Touriga Nacional, and Syrah, is aged one year in 300-litre French oak, producing a wine of real depth and longevity.

Briffa Wine Selections is the exclusive importer of Adega Monte Branco wines in Malta. Browse the Alento range and order online, with delivery across Malta.