Message:
‘Producer of the Year 1998’ Portuguese Wine Magazine
Family owned
All Portuguese and Iberian grapes
Educator
Innovator
Dão - two states “quintas”
Blends, varietals and sparkling
One of the first in Portugal to make varietal wines
Modern tasting room for 40+ seated; local caterers
75% red - 70% Export oriented
Interested in tourism
Where:
The Quinta dos Roques is at 150 Kilometers south e
ast of Porto in the small hamlet of Abrunhosa do Mato between Mangualde and Nelas. Vines and wines have been part of everyday family life here for over a century, although production at one time was little more than that needed for household consumption. At the beginning of the 1980s, however, the original system of cultivating vines by hand and delivering the grapes to the local co-operative ended, and a project designed to produce high-quality Dão wines was introduced. Using the latest techniques, the best varieties from the region were planted on the granite and, at intervals, schist soil of the gentle southern slopes. After a few years, when wine production was steady and consistent, a new adega was built combining the modern with the traditional; science and technology with art. Side by side, in perfect symbiosis, electronic presses appeared alongside granite “lagares”, stainless steel vats with oak barrels, cold systems with underground cellars. The very first wines produced were proof that the venture would be highly successful. The Quinta dos Roques now has 40 hectares of modern vines, which are notable for the quality of the grapes produced. The gradually increasing production averages 150,000 litres, which is split one quarter white wine and three quarters red wine. In 1996 Quinta dos Roques began the production of varietal red wines – Touriga Nacional, Alfrocheiro, Tinto Cão and Tinta Roriz. Then in 1998 the white varietal Encruzado, fermented in new French oak barrels was added to the varietals produced. The varietal wines are only produced when the fruit quality is considered excellent. Quinta dos Roques hosted the 2000 MW tour in their tasting room. Who:
Luís António Pereira Lourenço, Family Co-Owner
Maria Luísa Roque de Oliveira Lourenço, Family Co-Owner
Manuel Mineiro Lopes de Oliveira, Family Co-Owner
Maria Luísa D’Albuquerque Roque de Oliveira, Family Co-Owner
Rui Reguinga, Oenologist/Wine consultant
João Manuel Santiago, Cellar master
Vanda Maria Abrantes Pedroso, Vineyard consultant
Luís António Almeida e Sousa, Vineyard manager
Luis Lourenço and his wife were both mathematics teachers when his father-in-law persuaded him to become a winery owner with two quintas in Dão. Quinta dos Roques and Quinta das Maias are 30 kilometres away.
