Susana Esteban - “Procura”, Anfora, Portalegre, Alentejo, Portugal (2022)

TASTING NOTES

Very mineral and with citrus notes. In the mouth it is deep and full-bodied, but still very fresh with crispness and elegance. A real textural journey. 

A field blend from old vines at high altitudes in the Serre de São Mamede and vinified in Talha, a local tradition of anfora. Procura walks the tightrope between bold and elegant, with lime zest and soft fennel notes, and an echoing finish of mineral and mandarin wedge.  

85 year old vines planted on granitic slopes at 700 meter elevation and vinified and aged (6 months) in red clay amphoras, called Talha. 

While Alentejo is mostly flat, warm and historically dedicated to butk wine production - that is changing fast and none more so that in the distinctly different sub-region of Portalegre. It has hilly, granitic soils with higher elevations creating cooler, wetter conditions and therefore typically, fresher wines.

Susana Esteban is one of the winemakers in Portugal who has won the most awards. Her ingenious creations remain in the memory and her partnerships reveal what is good in the world of Portuguese wines.

Susana began her career in 1999 and it was in 2011 that she established her project in the Alentejo, when she acquired her first plots of vineyards.

In 2012 she was awarded the most prestigious prize a winemaker can receive in Portugal, the title of "Winemaker of the Year", by Revista de Vinhos, and to date she is the only woman to have been awarded this honour.