Zitrusduft, gepaart mit einem Hauch von Apfel. Beeindruckend ist die Maria Selektion, eine Art Liebeserklärung an Maria Leroux. Der Wein überzeugt durch tiefes Bordeauxrot, intensivem Beerenaroma, samtweiche Tannine und nachhaltigem Abgang mit leichten Noten von Pflaume, Schokolade und Feige. Speziell für die Gastronomie im Großraum Lagos wurde der Meia Praia entwickelt, ein robuster, ehrlicher vinho de mesa, ein roter Landwein, der bestens mit den Produkten der regionalen Küche harmoniert. Urs Mayr
Eichenfässer Oak casks
Natürlich wachsende Rebstöcke Naturally growing vines Getrocknetes ChiliPulver aus dem BioGarten (ganz oben links), daneben handgefertigtes Porzellan aus Porches. Zwei Spitzen-Rotweine, die nicht korken (links) Dried chilli powder from the organic garden (top left), next to it some handcrafted porcelain from Porches. Two quality red wines, which do not cork (left)
Info: Monte da Casteleja, CxP 3002, Sargaçal, 8600-317 Lagos, Tel. 917 829 059 & 917 361 041 info@montedacasteleja.com www.montedacasteleja.com, N 37.753, W 8.459 Sonntags geschlossen/closed Sundays
www.algarvevida.com/
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Lagos
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uillaume Leroux is a Frenchman with Portuguese roots: he was born in Paris, grew up in Lisbon and has been fascinated by the magic of wine since his childhood. So turning this passion into a career was an obvious thing to do. He studied winegrowing and oenology in Montpellier, in the South of France, and Australia, but he only learned how to make really great wines at Taylor’s, one of the country’s oldest port wine producers, in the Douro Valley. When his grandfather bequeathed him his Quinta in 1992, Guillaume decided that the time had come to produce his own wines, using traditional grape varieties Bastardo, Alfrocheiro (red), Arinto and Perrum (white). He started the Monte da Casteleja project together with his wife Maria, who lived in Brazil for ten years and studied industrial design in Rio de Janeiro. Nomen est omen, in this case this was true given the artefacts found during ploughing – pieces of 2000-year-old amphorae and clay pots, and the discovery by an archaeologist of the remains of a small castle dating from Roman times. Hence the choice of name for the estate and bottle label. Four of the seven acres on the estate are used winegrowing, and there is also an organic garden. For nearly ten years an irrigation system provided the necessary moisture for the soil and ensured optimal returns. Being ecologically minded and intent on culture and tradition the winemaker completely switched to organic farming in 2008, i.e. no application of pesticides and fungicides, but no extra water for the vines either. Now the yield depends entirely on natural environmental conditions, matching Guillaume’s philosophy perfectly - to preserve the identity of the wine industry. Therefore his grapes are crushed by foot as they were hundreds of years ago. Pressed this way and later aged in wooden barrels the wine is only sold regionally – and not more than 10,000 bottles of it per year. The Casteleja Monte Branco, a white wine with a refreshing acidity, an aromatic citrus fragrance, combined with a hint of apple, has already sold out. The ‘Maria selection’, a kind of love declaration to Maria Leroux, is quite impressive. The wine convinces with its deep burgundy red, its intense berry aroma, velvety tannins and a lasting finish with slight notes of plum, chocolate and fig. Especially developed for the gastronomy industry in the greater Lagos area, the ‘Meia Praia’ is a robust, honest vinho de mesa, a red table wine that harmonises very well with the produce of the regional cuisine. Urs Mayr