Month: June 2017

The wine and gastronomy critic for Jornal de Negócios was “surprised – and in a good way” by Quinta dos Lagares Mourisco 2015. Edgardo Pacheco argues that this is a “special rosé at different levels”, due to the particular aromas and flavors it presents and because “it is the result of a grape variety that is not very popular in the Douro and is practically unknown to consumers”.

The journalist also gives an account of the originality and peculiar history that gave rise to Quinta dos Lagares’ rosé, pointing out that “Mourisco is a red variety that exists in old vineyards, but because it gives wines with little color, it is no longer interesting”, with the aggravating factor that Mourisco bunches ripen early and are in a very advanced state of ripeness when the harvest takes place. It was, in fact, because they were confronted with this reality in 2014 that the Quinta dos Lagares team decided, in 2015, to pick the Mourisco grapes earlier so that they could be used for a rosé.

“It was a great idea,” says the journalist, “not only because this is the only Mourisco rosé in Portugal, but above all because it’s a model wine. In other words, it’s fresh, with unusual aromas that aren’t cloying at all.” To accompany pasta, grilled meats, salads or sushi,” he concludes, “this is a wine that was born out of a happy accident. It may well make some history in the Douro and beyond”.

The Revista de Vinhos article on Quinta dos Lagares and its wines, published in April 2017, recalls the “privileged location of the vineyards and their geostrategic diversity” and the importance of teamwork – “the boldness of winemaker Luís Leocádio and the support of João Pissarra, in viticulture and Port wines” – in creating a “cohesive synergy with fruitful results”.

The article also recalls that “Quinta dos Lagares has made history among Douro wines”, and presents the portfolio of wines, a rosé “made with Mourisco and a pioneer on the market”, four reds and a white. A 2015 Colheita Port, still in the IVDP approval phase, will embody Quinta dos Lagares’ centuries-old tradition of Port wine production, the publication also says.

Pedro Garcias of the Público newspaper is from the Douro region and lives there, but he still has the ability to be fascinated by the beauty of the Douro: “(…) In a flash, the land opens up into a wide precipice, leaving one of the most beautiful panoramas of the Douro in sight, an immense, geometric grid of vineyards climbing up the steep slopes (…) It’s an impressive landscape that shows off the mountainous nature of the region and its diversity”. In less than ten kilometers, we descend from 600 to 100 meters above sea level, as the journalist describes, and pass from the land of the Moscatel to the valley of the Douro’s great reds, the Vale de Mendiz.

In this setting, as if “hovering over all these vineyards”, Quinta dos Lagares “is a watchtower”, “its best viewpoint”.