Quinta do Pinto

At A Glance

Field: Detail
Region: Lisbon Wine Region
Place: Merceana, Alenquer
Grapes: 19 red and white Portuguese and international varieties
Signature wine: Estate Collection Red
Defining feature: Southern exposure, Atlantic influence and indigenous yeast fermentation

The Producer

António Cardoso Pinto initiated the family project after visiting the property. Rita, his eldest daughter, manages it today. The estate surrounds a seventeenth century manor house beside a traditional cellar, giving the project a physical centre in Merceana.

Quinta do Pinto favours minimal intervention and careful grape handling. The winery receives bunches on a sorting carpet, presses them, ferments in concrete tanks and includes an oak barrel ageing area and tasting room. All fermentations use indigenous yeasts.

Place

Quinta do Pinto sits at Merceana in the Lisbon Wine Region, with its postal address in Aldeia Galega da Merceana, Alenquer. The ocean is 20 kilometres away, and the vineyards grow in a moderate maritime climate with Mediterranean characteristics. Average annual rainfall is 700 millimetres.

The ground is Jurassic clay limestone with a clay loam texture and pH between 7 and 7.5. Maritime influence can preserve freshness during ripening, while clay limestone provides the physical base for the vines.

Wines

The red range places Estate Collection beside a Merlot and Syrah blend, a Touriga Nacional Reserva and a Tinta Miúda Limited Edition. Estate Collection is the blended red, while the Reserva and Limited Edition are single variety wines.

Published descriptions of the Estate Collection Red disagree on the blend count. Wine Enthusiast counts six grapes, three Portuguese and three French, while Curry Wines gives a list of five varieties. The proportions and the sixth grape remain unclear.

In The Glass

The Estate Collection Red is deep ruby, with ripe red fruit, plum compote, toast and dark chocolate in the aroma. The palate has silky tannins and a long, pleasurable finish. Wine Enthusiast found a cool edge and lifted blackberry fruit at the end, linking that freshness to the vineyard's proximity to the Atlantic.

A Bottle To Understand It

Choose the 2015 Quinta do Pinto Estate Collection Red. Curry Wines names Aragonez, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Tinta Miúda and Touriga Nacional in the bottle. The varieties were vinified separately, fermented for 14 days in lagares and aged for 12 months in used French oak. It puts several Portuguese and international varieties into one red before the Touriga Nacional Reserva and Tinta Miúda Limited Edition are tasted as single variety wines.

Final Word

Quinta do Pinto joins Lisbon maritime conditions, Portuguese grape varieties and indigenous yeast fermentation in a portfolio that includes blended and single variety reds.

At A Glance

The Producer

Place

Wines

In The Glass

A Bottle To Understand It

Final Word

Sources

Where to go next