SAN FRANCISCO, April 12, 2017 – The Symington family has acquired an important 500 acre estate in the Alto Alentejo area of southern Portugal, their first purchase outside of the Douro Valley. This property includes 106 acres of mature vineyards located at an altitude of 1,600-1,800 feet within the São Mamede National Park that rises to 3,400 feet, the highest mountain range in the South of Portugal. The soils are well drained, being a mixture of schist and granite with plentiful water flowing from the wooded uplands that rise from the estate’s north-easterly boundary.
The estate is located in one of the Alentejo’s smallest wine regions with just a little more than 2,000 acres of highly fragmented vineyards, but it enjoys an excellent climate that is strongly influenced by the Serra de São Mamede mountain range. The vineyards benefit from more moderate summer temperatures than those located on the lower-lying southerly plains of this large province.
For some years the Symington family have been searching for a fine vineyard in the Alentejo, and were increasingly drawn to this area by the soils, the areas temperate climate and the rapidly increasing quality of the wines being made here.
The estate, formally known as Altas Quintas, has been producing wines for many years, but the Symington family have chosen not to acquire any of the remaining stock. The family will embark on this new project solely with wines to be made by themselves, with the objective of producing wines of the highest quality.
“After 135 years in the Douro our family felt that the time was right to make wine in another great Portuguese region. We love the Alto Alentejo and especially the location of this vineyard. We plan to make some exciting and interesting wines here,” Rupert Symington, Joint Managing Director, Symington Family Estates.
The new acquisition will expand the Symington Family Estates’ still wine portfolio. Currently their Douro DOC brands include Pombal do Vesuvio, Dow’s Vale do Bomfim, Prats and Symington and Altano Douro.
About Symington Family Estates: The Symingtons have been Port producers for five generations since 1882 although their involvement in Port dates back fourteen generations to 1652 through their great-grandmother Beatriz Leitão de Carvalhosa Atkinson. The family company is the leading quality Port producer with brands such as Graham’s, Cockburn’s, Dow’s and Warre’s as well as being the leading vineyard owner in the Douro Valley with 1032 hectares (2550 acres) of vines and 28 Quintas. Many of the region’s finest Quintas belong to the family. For more information on Symington Family Estates, visit www.symington.com.
