Quinta do Vallado Reserva Field Blend 2020

Region and Vineyards

The Douro Valley, recognized as one of the world's oldest demarcated wine regions, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the heart of Portuguese winemaking. The vineyards of Quinta do Vallado are located on the steep terraces typical of the region, where the vines benefit from the schist soils and the unique microclimate created by the Douro River.

The grapes for this wine come from field blend vineyards, where more than 35 grape varieties, including Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, and Tinta Barroca, are interplanted. These vines, aged 60 to 100 years, yield small quantities of highly concentrated fruit. The soils are predominantly schist, providing excellent drainage and imparting a distinctive mineral character to the wines. The high-altitude vineyards enhance acidity and balance, contributing to the wine's freshness and elegance.

Winemaking

The winemaking process for Quinta do Vallado Reserva Field Blend combines traditional techniques with modern precision. A portion of the grapes is foot-trodden in granite lagares, ensuring a gentle extraction of flavors and tannins. The remainder is fermented in stainless steel vats with temperature control, allowing for consistent and clean fermentation.

Following fermentation, the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation to soften the acidity and develop complexity. The wine is then aged for 18 months in French oak barrels, with 22% new oak and the rest in used barrels. This aging regime imparts subtle oak influence, enhancing the wine’s structure and depth without overpowering its fruit character.

Tasting Notes

• Color: Deep ruby red with violet hues.
• Aroma: Concentrated aromas of black plum, fig, and hints of balsamic oak, complemented by notes of tobacco and spice.
• Palate: Full-bodied with firm yet velvety tannins, delivering flavors of dark fruits, minerality, and a touch of smokiness. The finish is long, elegant, and layered with complexity.

Did You Know?

The field blend tradition, used in this wine, dates back centuries and involves interplanting multiple grape varieties in a single vineyard. This approach enhances biodiversity, ensures resilience, and produces wines of remarkable complexity and balance.

Wine Pairing Ideas

• Braised lamb shank with rosemary: The wine’s structured tannins and dark fruit flavors complement the tender, herb-infused lamb.
• Beef Wellington: Its richness and savory mushroom notes pair beautifully with the wine’s complexity and minerality.
• Aged Manchego cheese: The wine’s bold flavors and tannic structure balance the cheese’s nutty, salty profile.
• Dark chocolate tart: Its dark fruit notes and touch of oak create a decadent pairing with bittersweet chocolate.

Tradition

Quinta do Vallado, established in 1716, is one of the oldest and most famous "Quintas" in the Douro Valley.

It once belonged to the legendary Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira, and still belongs to her descendants. It lies on both banks of the Corgo River, a tributary of the Douro River, near its mouth, close to the town of Peso da Régua.

For almost 200 years, Quinta do Vallado´s main activity was the production of Porto wines that were commercialized by the Ferreira Port House (belonging to the Ferreira family).

Following Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira´s great achievement, her Great grand-son Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, and his son Jorge Cabral Ferreira were the main architects of the further development of the Quinta´s vineyards and winery.

Modern Times

Moving from the centuries-old tradition of selling the farm´s production to the Ferreira Portwine House, in 1993, under the direction of Guilherme Álvares Ribeiro and his wife Maria Antónia Ferreira, the company decided to extend the business towards the production, bottling and marketing of own-label wines.

Also in 1993 under the guidance of Prof. Nuno Magalhães, a deep restructuring of the vineyards was started, with the objective of increasing the production of high quality grape varieties.

These new vineyards were planted with the best varieties in single plots, breaking with the old tradition of planting many different varieties in the same vineyard.

The homogenization of treatment, ripening and picking times made for a clear improvement in processes and translated into a much more regular, easy to control and economically effective quality production.

With 50 ha of vineyards aged from 6 to 15 years and having kept 20 ha of the best old plots, more than 80 years old, Quinta do Vallado, and it's executives João Ferreira Álvares Ribeiro, Francisco Ferreira (head of agricultural management) and Francisco Olazabal (oenologist), all descendants of Dona Antónia, has achieved national and international acclaimed levels of quality and recognition.

The construction of the new winery and barriques cellar, started in 2008 and concluded in the fall of 2009, combines state of the art technology with a high quality architecture project, making it one of the places to visit in the Douro valley.