Symington Family launches Quinta da Fonte Souto wines

Vintage 2017 will go down in history for the Symington family. It made its first ever ‘back-to-back’ general Vintage Port declaration since Andrew James Symington arrived in Porto in 1882 and, perhaps just as momentously, acquired Quinta da Fonte Souto. Located in Portalegre, Alentejo’s northernmost sub-region, it is the family’s first vineyard acquisition outside their beloved Douro.

In year one, with ‘probably as close to maximum quality as possible’, according to Charles Symington, it produced Alicante Bouschet and Syrah ‘of the highest quality’. Having focused on the ‘highly regulated’ Douro since 1995, the head winemaker is enjoying working in Alentejo, describing it as, ‘more New World, with a refreshing approach to varieties’. These include Syrah, which he rates as ‘fantastic’ in this southern Portuguese region.For Charles the chief attraction was ‘a location where, with more acidity, we could make different wine styles, not necessarily the most powerful and structured, but more elegant.’ Qualities that, since I first visited Portalegre in 2009 (including Altas Quintas, as Quinta da Fonte Souto was then known), have attracted cutting-edge winemaking talent and other established players (notably Herdade do Esporão, Cartuxa and Sogrape), putting its unique terroir in the spotlight.

A breath of fresh air

Key to Portalegre’s freshness is its location on the slopes of the Serra de São Mamede. Rising to 1,025m above sea level, the mountain is the south’s highest point and, says Dominic Symington, ‘creates its own microclimate, with particularly abundant rainfall [averaging 750mm a year]’.

Located at 480-540m, Quinta da Fonte Souto experiences pronounced diurnal temperature variation (averaging 11.5ºC) during maturation. Granite soils impart freshness too. With obvious potential for whites, it makes little sense to Charles that just three out of 45ha are planted to white grapes. The Symingtons have already grafted over some Trincadeira and Cabernet Sauvignon to increase the area of white grapes by 50% and introduce Touriga Nacional.

Polished wines

If freshness is in Portalegre’s DNA, attention to detail is part of the Symington’s DNA, resulting in polished wines. Compared with those I tasted from Altas Quintas a decade ago, Quinta da Fonte Souto reds are especially much more sophisticated. Multiple selective harvests, irrigating only to avert hydric stress and sweeping clean with new fermenters and barrels has paid dividends, although I found the new oak a little overplayed in the top white.

Quinta Da Fonte Souto at a glance

Area: 207ha, of which 43ha under vine

Soils: Transitional granite to schist

Principal white grape varieties: Arinto, Verdelho

Principal red grape varieties: Trincadeira, Aragonês, Alfrocheiro, Alicante Bouschet, Syrah, Touriga Nacional, Cabernet Sauvignon 

How do they compare to other Portalegre wines? Seized upon by leading winemakers such as Rui Reguinga, Vitor Claro and Susana Esteban, small plots of Portalegre’s old field blend bush vines produce exceptionally characterful wines on an artisanal scale.

Revolving around noble varieties from this relatively large estate’s modern, block-planted, trellised vines, Quinta da Fonte Souto offers a point of difference. The wines are sleeker and more international, yet finer-framed and fresher than is common for Alentejo.

With premium but accessible price points for all bar the flagship – ‘a statement wine,’ says Dominic – they look set to win new fans for Portalegre’s elegant style.

Sarah Ahmed reviews the Quinta da Fonte Souto wines