Quinta da Fonte Souto White 2024

Quinta da Fonte Souto White

2024

The Fonte Souto Estate white wine embodies all the strengths of the property’s unique terroir: the freshness and balance afforded by the altitude; the concentration, which derives from mature, low-yielding vines, and the complexity and structure provided by the barrel fermentation sur-lie (on the lees) with bâtonnage. This white allows for maximum expression of the Arinto, widely regarded as Portugal’s finest white grape variety and has a smaller Verdelho component.

The harvest began on August 16 with the Verdelho, followed on the 19th by the Aragonês, which is used to make the estate’s rosé. By the 26th we began picking the Arinto, which is the linchpin of the property’s white wines. Harvesting conditions were perfect, with below average rainfall and relatively cool temperatures delivering ideal ripening. We produced some exceptional rosé and white wines, which reinforces our belief that Quinta da Fonte Souto (between 490 to 550 metres altitude) near the São Mamede range possesses a remarkable terroir with great winemaking potential. The last to be picked were the finest plots of Fonte Souto’s signature red grape varieties – Alicante Bouschet, Syrah and Touriga Nacional, providing the components for the estate red and the flagship Vinha do Souto wine. These ferments were very promising and will undoubtedly complement the whites in showing an outstanding year for Quinta da Fonte Souto.

The 207-hectare Quinta da Fonte Souto was acquired by the Symington family in 2017 and is their first vineyard outside the Douro. Lying on the slopes of the São Mamede Range at an altitude of 500 metres in the Alentejo sub-region of Portalegre, the property benefits from cooler and wetter conditions than the hot Alentejo plain. The Fonte Souto wines express the freshness and elegance provided by the altitude, as well as the structure and complexity from the estate’s extensive collection of mature, low-yielding vines.

Quinta da Fonte Souto

Fonte Souto

Alentejo Wine

Alentejo DOC White

Alentejo DOC Prm White

Charles Symington, Pedro Correia and Ricardo Constantino.

Quinta da Fonte Souto, Portalegre

60% Arinto,40% Verdelho

13 %

5.8 g/l (tartaric acid)

1.1 g/l

2025

100% of the blend was fermented in 500-litre barrels in contact with the lees, and aged in the same French and Hungarian oak barrels – 40% new and 60% second and third year – for 13 months until bottling on 10th November 2025.

0.3 g/l (acetic acid)

3.37

The hand-picked grapes are placed in small, shallow boxes and taken to the on-site winery. Manual sorting is followed by destemming, after which the grapes are transferred to a pneumatic press, where a free-run must is obtained at very low pressure. Following clarification, fermentation begins in stainless steel vats after which the must is transferred to 500-litre oak barrels (this higher capacity minimises the impact of the wood on the aromatic component). The must is left in contact with the lees during and after fermentation, with the aim of enhancing aromatic complexity and mouthfeel.
Bâtonnage is carefully managed, particularly after fermentation, in order to maximise the extraction of compounds released through yeast autolysis, which contribute complexity and structure while balancing the crisp acidity that is characteristic of high-altitude grapes from the São Mamede Range.

Ready to drink but has good ageing potential.

Contains sulphites.

Yes

Yes

78 Kcal/100 ml