EST. 1758

As a family, Luisa Amorim and Francisco Rêgo are creating wines that preserve the history of the place. Brought to market two years after the grape harvest, production is small and the aim is to reach around 100,000 bottles. Herdade Aldeia de Cima’s classic and elegant wines preserve the distinctiveness of the estate and are hugely complex, stemming from heterogeneous soils and indigenous and Portuguese grape varieties.

The winery was built in the impressive former cow shed, built in 1953, known as the Armazém das Ramadas. To restore the building, the couple talked with their friends and interior designers, Ana Anahory and Felipa Almeida, owners of the Anahory Almeida studio, whose signature and good taste can easily be identified by the way that they work in connection with the Alentejo’s culture and handicrafts. The final result - beautiful, minimal and memorable - is perfectly combined with the building’s architecture, formed by thick, whitewashed walls that support an original metallic structure with three wings, built around a spectacular pair of silos in the central courtyard.

A region of rolling plains, the Alentejo has a relatively smooth and flat landscape that stretches across almost a third of mainland Portugal. Only Serra de São Mamede, to the north of the denomination, differs from the standard. The soils alternate between schist, clay, marble, granite and limestone, in an unusual diversity. The climate is clearly Mediterranean, hot and dry, with a strong continental influence.

The Alentejo is divided into eight sub-regions, Borba, Évora, Granja-Amareleja, Moura, Portalegre, Redondo, Reguengos and Vidigueira, grouped into three distinct groups. Portalegre is the most original sub-region, with predominantly granite soils, influenced by the freshness of the Serra de São Mamede. The landscape offers numerous plots of old vines, planted on the steep slopes of the mountain, benefiting from a unique microclimate that confers freshness and complexity.