Collection: Beira Interior
Especially in the northerly Castelo Rodrigo sub-region where mountains – the Marofa, Gardunha and Serra da Estrela - heave towards the sky. Vineyards rise to several hundred metres above sea level. Planted on granite and schist quartz-streaked soils, whites are aromatic, fresh, fruity and mineral. Old field blend vineyards of Síria (a.k.a. Roupeiro in Alentejo and Códega in the Douro) and Fonte Cal flourish, as do modern plantings of Arinto, Riesling and Chardonnay. Beira Interior’s modern reds are invariably made from relatively young plantings of popular Douro/Dão varieties; longer in the tooth local red grapes Marufo and Rufete have yet to inspire.