Heritage · 1947 Cellar
The Algerian Vats
Stone, time and silence — the cellar that built our standard.
An estate from 1947
Pinhal da Torre was founded in 1947 by the Saturnino Cunha family. The original cellar — still in operation today — was built around large vats of Algerian inspiration, a vinification architecture rare in Portugal and decisive in the identity of our wines.
What an Algerian vat is
Algerian vats are wide, low concrete tanks designed to maximise grape-skin contact at moderate, stable temperatures. Their thermal mass smooths fermentation peaks and lets the wine evolve with patience. They neither dry the wine like wood nor strip it like stainless steel: they preserve texture, freshness and place.
Why it still matters in 2026
- Slow, stable fermentations — gentler extractions and more complete aromatic profiles.
- Thermal inertia of concrete — less energy spent on cooling, lower operational footprint.
- A neutral container — wood is a choice for ageing, never a mask during fermentation.
- Continuity of method — the same vats used by previous generations of the family.
Heritage as responsibility
We do not preserve the 1947 cellar as a museum. We use it because it works — and because using it is the most honest way to respect those who built it. Every harvest, the same vats receive grapes from the same 30 hectares. The standard does not change. The patience does not change. That is what eight generations sound like in a glass.