2022 'Vallado' Touriga Nacional, Quinta do Vallado

Established in 1716 beside the River Corgo near Peso da Régua, Quinta do Vallado is one of the Douro Valley’s oldest and most distinguished estates. It once belonged to the legendary Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira and remains in the hands of her descendants. For generations, the estate produced Port for Casa Ferreira before beginning a new chapter under its own name in the early 1990s.

The home estate comprises 65 hectares of vineyards planted across south and west-facing slopes of schist, at altitudes ranging from 80 to 400 metres. Ten hectares were planted between the 1920s and 1950s, while the newer vineyards were established largely as individual varietal parcels. Quinta do Vallado also owns Quinta do Orgal in the Douro Superior, where more than 35 hectares of vineyard are organically farmed.

Francisco Ferreira and Francisco Olazábal oversee winemaking, combining the family’s long experience with detailed vineyard management and modern precision. A new winery and underground ageing cellar were completed in 2009, providing state-of-the-art facilities while traditional practices, including foot-treading in granite lagares for selected wines, remain part of the estate’s approach.

The 2022 Vallado is made entirely from Touriga Nacional. Fermentation took place in temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats with capacities of five and ten tonnes. Programmed pump-overs were used during fermentation to extract colour, perfume, flavour and tannin from the skins.

Following malolactic fermentation, the wine was transferred to 225-litre French oak barrels for approximately 16 months. Twenty-six per cent of the barrels were new, with the remaining 74% previously used, bringing structure and complexity while preserving Touriga Nacional’s distinctive fruit and floral character. The wine was bottled in September 2024, with 13,596 standard bottles produced.

Alcohol: 13.5%. Residual sugar: 0.2g/L. Total acidity: 6.0g/L. pH: 3.73. Recommended drinking: from 2027.