Port anD the Douro 109been sold to Sandeman, Taylor and Rozès. In 2000 Silval bottled their first Port for fifty
years under the name of Magalhães, and Douro wines are bottled as Dorna Velha.
Quinta do Passadouro*
Vale de Mendiz, 5070 alijó
tel. (351) 254 732 312
http://www.quinta-do-passadouro.com
Grade a
Hidden and almost forgotten for many years, Quinta do Passadouro has enjoyed a renaissance
since it was bought by Belgian sand and gravel magnate Dieter Bohrmann in 1992. Port and
Douro wines are made in lagares on the property under the aegis of Jorge Serôdio Borges. The
house on the property is run as a turismo rural and receives overnight guests.
Quinta de Santo António
Vale de Mendiz, 5070 alijó
Grade a
Slightly further up the Pinhão valley, Santo António was acquired by Fonseca in 1979. It
is the smallest of their properties with just six hectares of vines. As with nearby Quinta do
Cruzeiro, Fonseca has bought the grapes since 1912 and it forms part of the vintage blend.
The property was completely replanted in the 2000s and is entirely organic.
Quinta do Fojo and Quinta da Manuela
Vale de Mendiz. 5070 alijó
Grade a
Few properties in the Douro are more peaceful than Quinta do Fojo, where all that can
be heard in the spring is the rush of water from the River Pinhão. It is owned (along with
the adjoining Quinta da Manuela) by the Serôdio Borges family who, over the years, have
supplied Churchill, Croft and Niepoort. Fojo and Manuela also produce single-estate
Douro wines.
the Roncão Valley
‘Vinho bom e do Roncão, Ferrão and Todão’ (good wine comes from Roncão, Ferrão and
Todão). So goes the local saying, which must please growers in these three locations.
There are plenty of other places in the Douro making good wine but the small but deeply
incised Roncão valley has a strong reputation of its own. Just over the hill from the much
more extensive Pinhão valley, Roncão has a particularly hot and dry mesoclimate that
differentiates it from the surrounding area and produces robust wines, prized for their
richness, power and concentration. The British shippers refer to ‘roasted Roncão’ and
after a hot summer it is not uncommon for these wines to take on more than a hint of
torrefaction. It is difficult to appreciate the Roncão valley from anything other than a
four-wheel drive but there are some wonderful walks over the hill from the villages of
Casal de Loivos and Vilarinho de Cotas.