100 Port anD the Douro
springs that flow from the mountainside give a feeling of abundance. The existence of water
gave rise to the construction of the Cistercian monastery on the site, dating back to the
eleventh century. It fell into secular hands after the civil war of the early 1830s when the
monastery was destroyed by fire. In 1986, São Pedro das Águias was bought in a run-down
state by the Champagne house, Vranken. Ten years later, as part of a divorce settlement from
Paul Vranken, it came under the ownership of Mme Mauricette Mordant who established
the brand of Porto Heredias in 1999.
Quinta do Infantado
covas do douro, 5085 Pinhão
Grade a
Quinta do Infantado forms part of the old hamlet of Gontelho, deep in the valley below the
untidy little village of Covas do Douro (cova means ‘hollow’). The property used to belong
to the Infante Dom Pedro (hence the name) and was bought by the Roseiras, a family
from Covas, at the end of the nineteenth century. The 46-hectare vineyard at Infantado
is made up of a number of different plots of vines at varying altitudes; eight hectares of
Touriga Nacional are cultivated organically. In 1979 Infantado became the first to sell
estate-bottled wine on the domestic market. This put the Roseira family in a good position
to take advantage of the change in legislation in 1986 which permitted exports from the
Douro, thereby circumventing the shippers in Vila Nova de Gaia.
Quinta da Boa Vista
chanceleiros, 5085 Pinhão
Grade a
This dramatic quinta immediately below the hamlet of Chanceleiros has some of the finest
traditional terraces in the Douro. The property was used as a base by Joseph James Forrester
in the mid-nineteenth century but it has subsequently had a somewhat confused history,
falling into a number of different hands until it was bought back by the firm of Forrester
& Co. in 1979. Situated on either side of a deep ravine, Boa Vista has a particularly warm
mesoclimate with temperatures often four or five degrees higher than in neighbouring
quintas. As a result, it is usually one of the first properties to harvest in the Cima Corgo,
at least a week in advance of others. Another point of interest is the old track leading from
the adega to the river, along which bullock carts once hauled pipes of Port for shipment
down to Gaia. Some of the vertical stones used as a primitive braking system for the carts
still remain.
Quinta do Porto
chanceleiros, 5085 Pinhão
Grade a
The elaborate iron gates to Quinta do Porto denote this as one of Dona Antónia Ferreira’s
many properties in the Douro, and it still belongs the Port house Ferreira. The simple
whitewashed house and adjoining chapel at Quinta do Porto have been restored and
maintained as a showpiece for trade guests. Grapes from the south-facing terraces and