2024, Mariana Red, Herdade do Rocim

Description

2024, Mariana Red, Herdade do Rocim
Region: Alentejo, Portugal
Grapes: 40% Touriga Nacional, 30% Aragonez, 20% Alicante Bouschet, 10% Trincadeira

A lively Portuguese blend with bright red-berry character, lifted by gentle spice and hints of chocolate. Fresh, juicy and smooth, with soft tannins carrying the fruit into a long, satisfying finish.

Herdade do Rocim sits between Vidigueira and Cuba in the Lower Alentejo. The estate covers 120 hectares, with 70 hectares of vineyards and 10 of olive groves. They’re part of the Alentejo Sustainability Program, and the fruit for this wine is organically grown—most vineyards are certified, with the rest transitioning.

The vineyards lie along the Vidigueira fault, an east–west escarpment rising to 420 metres. This formation channels cool, moist Atlantic air, making this one of the region’s mildest areas despite the southern location. Warm days and cool nights—often with 15°C temperature swings—extend ripening, intensify flavour and preserve acidity. Soils are a mix of granite and schist, with good surface water that helps the vines through hot summers.

Grapes are hand-picked into small boxes, then sorted with care. Winemaking is low-intervention: fully destemmed fruit, gently crushed, followed by a cold soak for aroma and flavour. Fermentation takes place in small stainless steel tanks with native yeasts at around 24°C. The wine is then matured for three months in 300–500L French oak barrels.