Cellar Profile
In the heart of the Douro Valley’s Cima Corgo sub-region, you’ll find a winery that strikes a fine balance between tradition and modernity, elegantly showcasing the exciting breadth of offerings coming out of Portugal these days. Quinta da Pedra Alta is the longtime dream-come-true of a small group of family and friends from the United Kingdom, who purchased the historic property in 2018. Their 35 hectares of steep, terraced vineyards are the archetype Douro landscape, dramatically rising from the eponymous river that meanders through northern Portugal. Only indigenous Portuguese grapes — namely Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinto Roriz for reds and Gouveio, Rabigato and Viosinho for whites — are planted on poor, schist-based soils. The winemaking is led by two young and dynamic individuals, João Pires from Portugal and Matt Gant from Australia. As is tradition in the area, all wines are blends and grapes are crushed via foot treading in granite lagares. Only wild yeasts are used in fermentation and oak aging is measured. Pedra Alta wines are at once powerful and refined, offering up loads of Douro Valley warmth alongside Old World structure and sophistication.
Region
Named after the river which runs throughout the Iberian peninsula before entering the Atlantic Ocean, the Douro region is best known for producing the fortified wine, Port. The past few decades have seen an uptick in the quantity and quality of unfortified wines, usually falling under the DOC Douro designation. The region's vast array of native grapes are the ingredients for both Port and their unfortified counterparts, most notably Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo) for reds, and Gouveio, Rabigato, Malvasia Fina and Viosinho for whites. The climate here is hot and dry, with steep terraced vineyards combining to produce extremely ripe grapes and subsequently full-flavoured, high alcohol wines.
Vineyard
Vines are planted at an elevation of 250 – 400 meters above sea level in schist-based soils. Vine age is between 15 and 19 years old. Vines per hectare is 4,500 and training is done via single and double cordon and guyot methods. Grapes are harvested by hand.
Winemaking
Hand-harvested from the Estate's steep terraced vineyards, the grapes are carefully sorted and de-stemmed before being pressed into concrete lagars for fermentation using native yeasts. The juice spends 10 days macerating on its skins. Malolactic fermentation takes place in a combination of stainless steel and seasoned French Oak barriques. The wine rests on its lees for a further 18 months before being bottled unfiltered.
Tasting Notes
Ruby-red with purple hues, this bold wine explodes on the nose with blackberry, dark plum, mocha and red currant aromas. The palate is ripe and structured, with a healthy dose of tannins. The black fruits of the nose are joined by ripe strawberry, tobacco, dark chocolate and baking spices. While complex, this is enjoyable as a quaffing wine if you don't mind a little tannin. Serve at cellar temperature with a seared ribeye, a hearty stew or roast beef.
Varieties
A blend of primarily Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional with very small amounts of Tinta Barroca and Fernão Pires. Touriga Franca is the most widely-planted grape in the Douro Valley and, along with Touriga Nacional, is considered among the finest of all Port grapes. It exhibits abundant aromatics and fruit character. Touriga Nacional, the king of Port grapes, is also gaining notoriety for its ability to create full-flavoured, firmly-structured red wines. Its small berries result in hugely tannic wines that have an unrivaled ability to age.