Monte Branco Vinhas Novas Branco 2024

Monte Branco Vinhas Novas Branco 2024 is a white with a unique, austere profile made by Adega do Monte Branco in the prestigious Alentejo region. It stands out for an unusual combination of grapes typically associated with other, cooler regions of Portugal.

The Wine Advocate
RP 93

Reviewed by: Luis Gutiérrez

The elegant, clear and precise 2024 Vinhas Novas Branco has a bright yellow colour and a very harmonious, nuanced nose. It's fresh and balanced, with a serious, dry palate. It's an unusual blend of 30% Arinto, 30% Esgana Cão, 20% Rabigato and 20% Galego Dourado, from vines planted in 2017 on limestone and schist soils at 400 to 420 metres.

50% fermented in 600-litre barrels and 50% in stainless-steel tanks, where it aged for 11 months. It shows restrained ripeness and only 11.5% alcohol, 1% less than the year before. It has a pH of 3.24 and 5.5 grams of acidity. 3,800 bottles were produced. The wine was bottled in August 2025.

Luis Louro is the son of Miguel Louro of Quinta do Mouro. In 2004, Luis founded Adega Monte Branco in Estremoz, aiming to make wines centred on balance rather than power, and freshness rather than excess. The project is built on traditional Portuguese grapes and inspired by Alentejo wines of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

Luis firmly believes great wines are made in the vineyard, so he started the project by renting vineyards while gradually building his own winery. Over time he expanded through land purchases, new plantings and buying vineyards. By the 2024 harvest, practically all vineyard plots were owned by the company, with just one still rented.

Sustainability has become central to the project, including weed control without herbicides — using sheep in winter and mechanical methods in spring and summer — exclusively organic fertilisation and producing 80% of the energy used in winery and vineyard operations. Priority is also given to grapes best adapted to the region's climate.

There's also a growing focus on traditional Portuguese grapes with long growing cycles, high acidity and ageing potential. Luis Louro was the first producer in the region to plant Esgana Cão and Galego Dourado, continually adapting grapes, rootstocks and training systems to the specific characteristics of each soil type and vineyard plot.

The project celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2024. Today Luis Louro farms a total of 28 hectares across five plots, all in Estremoz, the oldest planted in 1993. Average annual production is 200,000 bottles.

Published: 11 June 2026