A Vidigueira estate with Serra do Mendro shelter, vineyards weighted toward red varieties and a gravity flow winery.
The producer
Casa Agrícola HMR makes wine at Herdade do Monte da Ribeira near Marmelar in Vidigueira, where the land rises from the plain toward Serra do Mendro. The mountain shelters the vineyards from prevailing northerly winds, reducing wind driven dehydration compared with nearby properties. Since 2011, Luís Duarte has served as consulting winemaker alongside resident winemaker Nuno Elias, while the winery underwent renewal and modernization.
Known for
Vidigueira vineyards and gravity flow
Notable facts
Herdade do Monte da Ribeira belongs to Casa Agrícola HMR, formerly called CADE, Companhia Agrícola de Desenvolvimento, S.A., until 2010.
Industrialist Victor Carmona e Costa founded the agricultural company in 1986.
The estate winery was designed to work by gravity on advice from consulting winemaker João Portugal Ramos, who worked with Rui Reguinga.
In 2019, vineyard plantings were 70% red varieties and 30% white varieties.
The story
The Dam Before The Vines
In 1989, after the first dam was built at Herdade do Monte da Ribeira, the estate planted its first vines. João Portugal Ramos was initially responsible for winemaking. The agricultural company had been founded by industrialist Victor Carmona e Costa in 1986, three years earlier. The sequence at Herdade was physical and direct: a dam, then a vineyard, then a named winemaker. Later work renewed the vines and winery, but the estate's first wine step began with the dam and the planting.
From the atlas
Casa Agrícola HMR
At Herdade do Monte da Ribeira near Marmelar in Vidigueira, Casa Agrícola HMR makes wine from vineyards sheltered by Serra do Mendro and planted to red and white varieties.
At A Glance
Field
Detail
Region
Alentejo
Municipality
Vidigueira
Village
Marmelar
Estate
Herdade do Monte da Ribeira
Wine focus
Red and white varieties
Defining feature
Serra do Mendro sheltering the vineyards
The Producer
Herdade do Monte da Ribeira includes vineyards, olive groves and Mediterranean forest. Casa Agrícola HMR holds the estate. The company was called CADE, Companhia Agrícola de Desenvolvimento, S.A., until 2010. Industrialist Victor Carmona e Costa founded the agricultural company in 1986.
The first vines were planted in 1989, after construction of the first dam. João Portugal Ramos initially handled the winemaking. Since 2011, Luís Duarte has served as consulting winemaker alongside resident winemaker Nuno Elias, while the winery underwent renewal and modernization. Casa Agrícola HMR also belongs to Vidigueira Winelands, a joint promotional association formed by six regional wine producers.
The estate's soils are poor in organic matter. A mixed cover is sown between vine rows, then cut and incorporated. Winter vegetation remains until it begins to compete with the vines.
Place
Marmelar is a small Alentejo village in Vidigueira municipality. Herdade do Monte da Ribeira extends from the plain onto Serra do Mendro. The property covers about 1,100 hectares, including more than 700 hectares of Mediterranean forest on Serra do Mendro, alongside vineyards and olive groves.
The vineyard soils are poor clay loam, with clay only lightly developed. Part of the vineyards lies over the geological fault between Vidigueira and Moura, an area associated with old copper and iron mines. Serra do Mendro shelters the vines from prevailing northerly winds. Wind driven dehydration therefore has less impact than at nearby properties, and the vines do not enter stress as easily.
Wines
The estate's wines come from vineyards planted to both red and white varieties. In 2019, plantings were 70% red varieties and 30% white varieties. The range has a larger red side and a smaller white side. The estate winery was designed to work by gravity. In a gravity flow cellar, the harvest moves through different stages with less pump handling.
Final Word
Casa Agrícola HMR is a Vidigueira estate with vineyards sheltered by Serra do Mendro, poor clay loam soils and a winery designed for gravity flow.