Territory
SOILS
Domínio do Açor has pioneered in Portugal, alongside our partners at Cortes de Cima in the Alentejo, to work with the world's leading terroir expert, Chilean Pedro Parra. Pedro is also a consultant to producers of the caliber of Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Domaine Roulot, Argiano, Comando G, Dominio del Águila, among other fabulous clients around the world, only the ones he handpicks to provide his very competitive advice. Pedro loves granite, he considers these soils among the best in the world, next to limestone, to achieve wines of elegance, freshness and minerality.
On his first visit to Domínio do Açor in May 2022, Parra and Paul Krug, his assistant and "professional heir", made 8 deep "pits" in the main vineyards of our domaine, in a first macro analysis of our terroir. "The first separation we have to make here, and which is sometimes a painful discovery for some clients, is whether you have soil or rocks in Domínio do Açor“, Pedro sentenced upon arriving at the vineyards. "Great wines are born in terroirs with both soil and rocks, and only with very rare exceptions in situations where there is only one, or only the other." To our happiness, the terroir of Domínio do Açor is very well composed between soil and rocks, more precisely between the silt typical of granitic soils, with alterites or rocks degraded by the chemical and physical processes of weathering, in addition to quartz and the granite mother rock. A level 4/5 alterite predominates throughout the Domínio do Açor vineyard, which Parra says is fantastic for producing great wines. Throughout 2022 we carried out a thorough scanning of our entire domaine with the electromagnetic conduction mapping company suggested by Parra. On his second visit in May 2023, we analyzed 11 more "pits" in the Domain of Açor, and the result could not have been better, more than half of the terroirs were classified as either "premier cru" or "grand cru", at an absolute level of quality.
Our long journey to understand each micro-parcel of the Domain of the Açor is going full steam ahead, and with the help of Pedro Parra and his team, we want to identify each “plot" of our vineyard, and vinify them with respect, knowledge and sensitivity to extract the maximum minerality of our soils, the noble essence of the Dão.
Coordinates: 40° 26’20” N / 7°58’21” W
Climate: Moderate continental climate (Burgundy / Barolo / Central Otago / Baden / Austria / Washington)
Altitude: 293 metres above sea level (Bourgogne between 200 and 500 metres)
Average annual rainfall: 827.70mm, November and December the wettest months (Burgundy 700mm, May and June the wettest)
Average annual temperature: 14°C - 16°C (Bourgogne 12°C)
Average summer temperature: 18°C - 20°C (Bourgogne 20°C)
Maximum diurnal temperature variation in summer: 20°C
Wines
Vintage Report
2021
“It was a long cycle year, with no heat stroke, significant disease pressure, average rainfall values, but too much humidity or cold at some key times such as flowering or setting. After the set of berries a great harvest was predicted, which was believed until the eve of the harvest. Rainy weather in the final stages of maturation brought difficult but very correct decisions on our part. It may be said that there are wines from before and after the rains in the Dão. However, and for the first vintage of Domínio do Açor, a learning experience for all, we have wines at a level where the post rain is not noticeable. All the whites were picked before the rains. The red wines were picked between and after 3 distinct periods of rainfall, with a strong selection work”
LUÍS LOPES, CONSULTANT OENOLOGIST OF DOMÍNIO DO AÇOR
Biodiversity
We honour the secular tradition of Oliveira do Conde in olive tree cultivation and olive oil production of the best quality. The town coat of arms proudly shows this vocation: a silver olive tree, with black fruit.
In Domínio do Açor we have a lake of almost 2.000m2 between the vineyards, which is home to thousands of life forms that are very important for our ecosystem, from insects, fish, birds and even wild otters.
Local shepherds bring sheep to graze in our vineyards, help to reduce the need for weed control, the incidence of some pests, and help to keep the soil alive and fertile.
In our olive groves (about 4ha) we have the cultivars Galega, Cobrançosa, Picual and Arbequina. Our olive trees will also undergo a long recovery work in terms of pruning and soil improvement.
In 2021, we produced our first cold extraction olive oils of the Cobrançosa and Picual varieties. Strictly manual harvesting and olives processed in the shortest possible time to guarantee the best possible composition: low acidity, excellent aromatic component with high nutritional properties.
Our inspiration were the fabulous Tuscan olive oils, but the DNA is totally Dão.
One of the greatest beauties, and origin of the potential to deliver great wines in our Domínio do Açor is that our vineyards are not in a single monoculture block. They are scattered around the property, among olive groves, fruit trees (many citrus trees of ancient species and clones, local apple trees, pear trees, cherry trees, mulberry trees, etc.), rose and flower gardens and ornamental plants, native forest, very old trees (oaks, sequoias, cedars of Lebanon), etc.
