Guillaume Leroux started with wine with his French father, but his Algarve roots come from his mother and after graduating in viticulture and oenology at the University of Montpellier, he began his career in the Douro where he gained experience for 5 years at Taylor , Quinta do Côtto and Quinta do Tedo. In 1999 he decided to return to the motherland, where he planted 3 ha of vineyards, in Monte da Casteleja, which he inherited in 1983 from his maternal grandfather from Sagres. He bet on local grape varieties like Perrum in white, but also went looking for acidity with Arinto, and in reds he chose Douro grapes like Bastardo, which was on the verge of extinction in the Algarve, like Alfrocheiro do Dão. The clay-limestone soils make it possible to retain the little rain that irrigates the vineyards annually (400 mm normally), the northern winds cool the nights in late summer and concentrate the grapes. Since 2008, the farm has been certified in organic farming and the winemaking has accompanied the natural work in the vineyard, with spontaneous fermentations, brief maceration in white, light traditional treading in mills, and aging in vats or barrels used to soften tannins. Guillaume wines are sincere, they have a dense material due to low yields, they are also gastronomic and above all escape any standardization, revealing a facet of its Lagos terroir and its interpretation of vigneron.
Monte da Casteleja
Guillaume Leroux
Algarve
