Quinta do Mouro
Miguel Louro bought the historic Quinta do Mouro near Estremoz in 1979. At the time there was no winegrowing there (any more). Fifteen years later, in 1994, the first harvest was made and Miguel's wines immediately became a top reference in Portugal.
The Portugal Collection has been its proud importer since 2004.
Quinta do Mouro is available in Belgium from The Portugal Collection. We import the wines directly and deliver throughout Belgium.
Miguel Louro replaced the farm crops on his estate with vines and so, after 200 years, brought the old adega of Quinta do Mouro back to life. The quinta dates from the 18th century: a winemaking space was already built then (still in use today), and the wines made there were well regarded. That meant there was potential, so besides being a dentist Miguel also wanted to become a winemaker. Since then Quinta do Mouro has grown into one of the most important references in the Alentejo. With a total of 30 ha, Miguel Louro is by no means one of the region's large producers, but the quality of his wines is outstanding. In 2016 his sustained pursuit of quality was recognised by the Portuguese wine press, and Miguel was named producer of the year.
Most of the vineyards are located around the estate on the north side of the city of Estremoz. Most striking and defining characteristics are the altitude and soil. Estremoz is some 400m above sea level, which helps to temper the summer heat somewhat, especially at night. The soil is an alternation of clay and rock (marble and slate). The main grape varieties are Aragonês, Alicante Bouschet, Alfrocheiro, Touriga Nacional, Trincadeira, Cabernet Sauvignon.
Miguel takes a very traditional approach to winemaking and modern technology thus remains limited. The equipment used is simple. This makes it a puzzle during the harvest period to get all the grape material processed in the historic adega. The grapes are received outside, destemmed or not, and collected in open tanks (lagares). In it, the first skin soaking occurs. Only then is the must transferred to inox tanks in the old adega. A genuine old-timer is used for pressing. The traditional vertical presses are much less user-friendly than the modern pneumatic models, but the result is noticeably better for red wines. Often at Quinta do Mouro the finest juice appears to come out of the press. After fermentation, most wines move to a barrel room opposite the adega. Miguel Louro uses wooden barrels of various origins and tonneliers. The percentage of new barrels is kept limited.
Maturation is finally completed in bottle.
The best wines invariably age for more than five years on the estate. Miguel Louro thus instinctively adopted an approach that more and more winemakers are reintroducing today. Throughout time, the task of preservation shifted from producer to consumer because every producer and merchant wanted to monetize their wares as quickly as possible. Now that it appears that many consumers drink their bottles far too early, they are reverting to the approach of yesteryear.
Therefore, to underscore the delights of a perfectly aged bottle, a tasting at Quinta do Mouro is not complete without a few older specimens in the glass.
Quinta do Mouro in our range
Including: Quinta do Mouro, Vinha da Gafaria, Erro, Dourado, Vinha do Mouro (white and red), Zagalos (white and red), ZagaLUZ.
View them in the webshop · More about the region: Alentejo.
Delivery and collection
We deliver throughout Belgium. Shipping costs €15.73 (incl. VAT) and is free from €175. Prefer to collect? You can pick up your order at our shop in Roeselare, Kaaistraat 62A. More about delivery