The Quinta is based in Pinhão, specifically in the subdistrict of Gontelho where the best Port vineyards may be found. The estate has been owned by the Roseira family since the end of the 19th century and is now managed by brother and sister, João Roseira, vineyard manager/winemaker, and Catherine Roseira, Chief Executive. The vineyards (terraced, very steep and hard-soiled) are worked in traditional methods.
All vineyards (120, 000 acres) in the Douro are classified by site location, from A (best) to F (worst). Class A and B grapes are mostly used for vintage Porto, then LBV and aged Tawnies (10 through 40 years old).
Quinta do Infantado owns only Class A vineyards. Nothing else. Everything from their basic Ruby through their Vintage comes from Class A sites!
Quinta do Infantado Portos are fermented in lagar and foot-treaded. This is the traditional, labor intensive way of making Porto. After years of of ultra-premium-high-tech-state-of-the-art-stainless-steel-fermentation-tanks most of the shippers came back to lagares for their best grapes. But Infantado’s been doing this since 1816 and does this for everything from Ruby to Vintage.
Infantado wines ferment naturally with no yeasts added. Grapes are loaded into 44lb boxes, all picked by hand. This means grapes arrive at the winery as if they were still hanging on the vine. This takes time and costs money, but makes an enormous difference in the final quality of the wine. Infantado wines ferment naturally with no yeasts added.
Finally, the Vintage Portos of Quinta do Infantado are singularly distinctive in their “meio-seco” (medium-dry) style. The Roseira family is very careful when declaring a vintage year and will not do so if there is the least doubt about the concentration and quality of the vintage.
- Douro Tinto
- White Porto
- Ruby Porto
- Tawny Porto
- Tawny Porto 10 Anos
- Porto LBV
- Porto Colheita