COMPANY INFO...
Sociedade Agricola da Labrugeira has been producing and bottling wine in the Estremadura region for many years. The company's name comes from the family's oldest vineyard located in the Vale das Areias, between the chapel dedicated to São Jorge and the Montejunto Mountains (Alenquer).
The passion for wine making passed from generation to generation and in the 1990's, as the result of our desire to improve the heritage of our ancestors, we began modernising the vineyards and the wine cellars which dated from 1930. It was time to satisfy the most demanding consumers!
A study was carried out of local conditions in order to select the grape types which would allow us to reach top quality levels; low output per hectare (through severe pruning and weeding out of grape bunches), and integrated production, in compliance with agricultural environmental standards. We opted for the national grape types Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Castelão, Touriga Nacional and Fernão Pires, and for the foreign varieties Sauvignon and Syrah.
The wine made from the grapes gathered in 2003 was the first to be made from the new plantations and the following year we completed the re-structuring of the 15 hectares of vineyards. By respecting the rules of nature, we gather the grapes according to the times when the various different grape types mature. We pick the grape bunches by hand and sort them into small individual boxes. Then we pull the grapes off the stalks and gently crush them. The wines from each grape type and piece of land are made separately in stainless steel vats with strict individual temperature control (adaptable to the characteristics of each must). The maceration in the vats goes on for a long time so that all the phenolic components are extracted.
The wine is then stored for between 6 and 12 months in top quality French oak barrels. Lastly, the wine is bottled and kept in the cellar for another stage period of three months until it is ready to be put on the market.