The vineyards and the countryside.

Quinta Vale Benfeito

Quinta Vale Benfeito, is a rustic property, located in the area of the so-called “Alto Concelho de Alenquer”, 40km north of Lisbon, very close to the beaches of the West (30km Praia de Santa Cruz).

12 km to the northwest we find the Montejunto mountain, which shelters us from the strong north winds and the salty air, providing moderate temperatures and permanent sea breezes.

In 2014, two brothers started this project, acquiring parcels adjacent to a family property they already owned. Acquisitions of these parcels resulted in a property with approximately 27 hectares.

In 2015, they began to characterize the property and plant and replant new species, with the aim of investing in cutting edge agriculture – sustainable, environmentally friendly and profitable – diversifying it into Viticulture and Olive Growing.

In 2018, Quinta Vale Benfeito produced the first vintages of wine, with complex aromas and flavors, named after the children of the family, namely: the Reds they were called Massimo, Paos Brancos Carlota and the Rosés Leonor.

In a way, it becomes intoxicating to know that each harvest corresponds to the name of each child and that this legacy can make them great wine producers, each in their own way.

Our "Terroir"

Soils

Originated in the Upper Jurassic Period, they form land commonly known as clay-limestone.

Relief

The land where the original area of Quinta Vale Benfeito is located is distributed, for the most part, on slopes with variable slopes and slopes – equal to or less than 20% and, therefore, likely to allow high levels of mechanization. The slopes determine exposures for the East, South and West quadrants, with the South/West facing predominant.

Climate

The region where the Quinta is located benefits from a mild climate – temperate of the Atlantic type, with a slight excess of water in winter and moderate water deficit in summer.

The Lisbon Wine Region

The Lisbon Wine Region is a wine region that produces great wines, with lots of character, and increasingly in greater quantity and quality. To prove it, Lisbon was even named by the international specialist press as one of the best wine destinations of 2019.

With a vineyard area of approximately 18 thousand hectares, the region has 9 Denominations of Controlled Origin (DOC): Alenquer, Arruda, Bucelas, Carcavelos, Colares, Encostas d’Aire, Lourinhã, Óbidos and Torres Vedras. It also has the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) of the same name, which translates into the Lisboa Regional wine.

From this entire territory, production is born that is currently exported to more than 80 countries, with Lisbon being the Portuguese region that sends abroad the largest percentage of the (non-sparkling) wines it certifies. All this with an overall quality that grows with each passing year. To help you discover the region, we give you ten suggestions for great wines that you should try now. In the end, we also add a treasure produced in this unique territory.

Our castes

White Wines

Arinto

It provides vibrant wines with lively acidity, refreshing and with a strong mineral character, and high aging potential. The firm acidity will be the main calling card of the Arinto variety, guaranteeing it the name of “improving” variety in many Portuguese regions. If in Bucelas the variety reaches its zenith, it is in Alentejo and Ribatejo that its assistance is more fruitful, due to the contribution of acidity that is so essential and difficult to obtain. It presents medium-sized, compact bunches with small berries. It is a relatively discreet variety, without particular aspirations of exuberance, favoring notes of green apple, lime and lemon. It is often used in the production of blended wines and sparkling wine.

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a variety of French origin, from Burgundy, which is among the main international varieties. It is also one of the most planted grapes in the world. This wide range is due to the easy adaptation of the variety to different types of soil and climate. However, each producing region gives rise to Chardonnay wines with distinct characteristics.

Fernão Pires

The high productivity, as well as the versatility, precocity and richness in aromatic compounds, help to explain the popularity. As it is a very plastic variety, it is used equally in both sings and batches, still accepting sparkling wines and late harvest vintage, to obtain sweet wines. As a rule, Fernão-Pires wines should be drunk young. Sensitive to frost, prefers fertile soils, temperate or warm. The aromatic descriptors associated with it alternate between lime, lemon, aromatic herbs, rose, mandarin and orange. In addition to Portugal, the Fernão-Pires variety has been planted with some success in South Africa and Australia.

Muscate

As it is the variety with the highest concentration of aromatic compounds, its identification in a blind tasting is easy and intuitive. However, if not properly tamed, it can be overly enthusiastic and excessive in table wines. It is often described as a female variety, aromatically drifting among the notes of raisins, lemon, lychee, pear and lime. In fortified wines, whenever it manages to preserve the acidity, it provides memorable wines, including the “Moscatel de Setúbal”, with notes of orange peel, honey, spices, iodine, orange blossom and acacia.

Sauvignon blanc

Sauvignon blanc is a white grape variety, originally from the region of Bordeaux, France. It produces dry and refreshing wines that have, as main characteristics, the acid flavors, Melon, Green Apples and Asparagus as some of the predominant aromas.

Red Wines

Alicante Bouschet

The Alicante Bouschet variety is of French origin from the Languedoc region, created by Henry Bouschet, between 1865 and 1885, from crossing Grenache and Petit Bouschet grapes. Currently, it is mainly cultivated in Spain and Portugal, and the best expression and notoriety wines are mostly found in Portugal in Alentejo, thus being considered almost a Portuguese variety. Formerly used in assemblage processes to improve the color input in some reds, but nowadays it is considered one of the best “national” red varieties.

Aragonez

It is a red grape variety of the Vitis vinifera family, one of the best known in the Iberian Peninsula. This is a variety that originated in northern Spain, and is also widely cultivated in Portugal, where it is known as Tinta Roriz in the Douro region. It adapts well to different climates and soils, so its cultivation has increased and extended to other regions, especially to Dão and Alentejo, where it has adapted particularly well, but also in the Ribatejo and Estremadura regions. The ideal growing conditions are hot and dry climates, so that production is smaller and the berries more concentrated. This variety originates wines with a high alcohol content, low acidity and suitable for aging, being very resistant to oxidation.

Caladoc

Caladoc is a grape variety originally from France, planted mainly in the southern wine regions, such as Languedoc. This variety is a cross between Grenache and Malbec grapes created by Paul Truel in 1958 at the National Institute of Agronomic Research (INRA). Caladoc grapes have high phenolic levels, producing wines with dark red tones and significant amounts of tannin. In blends, the grape contributes to the aroma of the wine, sharing many of the fruity aromas of its predecessor grapes.

Castellan

It is in Palmela, on the hot sands of Poceirão, in the old vineyards of the region, that the variety gives its best, developing best in hot climates and dry, sandy soils. In mature vines, with low productivity, duly controlled, Castelão produces structured, fruity wines, with particular emphasis on blackcurrant, plum in syrup, wild berries, with typical hints of mortified game. It provides wines with prominent tannins and intense acidity, revealing a rustic side that Castelão rarely manages to take off. The best specimens promise excellent aging ability.

Merlot

Merlot wine is full-bodied, intensely fruity, complex, with a harmonious structure with perfect balance. It presents a reddish-purple color, its aromas are dense and fruity, having a good evolution, thus leaving its aroma with a lot of complexity. The palate is rich, smooth, perfectly balanced, silky and of great class.

Baroque red

With generous sugar contents. It lives poorly with excess heat and water stress, passing easily into sudden overmatures. Regular in production and resistant to diseases and pests, it gives rise to wines that are well colored, soft but rough and rustic, with high alcohol potential. It is rarely bottled on its own, being present in most Douro wines. In South Africa, it assumed an unusual role, being regularly used in the still and generous wines of the southern country.

Touriga Nacional

It is a noble and highly appreciated variety in Portugal, the most praised variety in Portugal, and is now spread throughout Alentejo, Lisbon, Bairrada, Setúbal, Tejo, Algarve and Azores. The thick skin, rich in coloring matter, helps to obtain intense and deep colors. The abundance of primary aromas is one of the brand’s hallmarks of the variety, being simultaneously floral and fruity, always intense and explosive. Little productive, it is capable of producing balanced wines, with good alcoholic levels and excellent aging capacity.

Syrah

Popularly known as Shiraz, mainly in Australia, where it has enormous success, this variety originates from the Upper Rhône Region, France and results in the production of dark, rich, strong wines, with a high degree of alcohol and slightly peppery. It combines perfectly with several other grape varieties and ages in a sublime way, giving the final product the status of a truly classic red wine.

The vineyards and the countryside.

Quinta Vale Benfeito

Our "Terroir"

Soils

Relief

Climate

The Lisbon Wine Region

Our castes

White Wines

Arinto

Chardonnay

Fernão Pires

Muscate

Sauvignon blanc

Red Wines

Alicante Bouschet

Aragonez

Caladoc

Castellan

Merlot

Baroque red

Touriga Nacional

Syrah

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Quinta Vale Benfeito - Vineyard