Quinta dos Murcas VV47, Douro DOC

Description

Quinta dos Murcas VV47 is a Douro red wine, produced by Esporao at their Quinta dos Murcas which is located in the centre of the Douro. The wine comes from the estate’s oldest vineyard planted vertically in 1947.

Esporao was founded in 1977 by José Roquette and Joaquim Bandeira. The compnay are most famous for their Herdade de Esporao estate in the Alentejo region but today the company has expanded to produce wines outside of Alentejo in the Douro (Murcas) and Vinho Verde (Quinta do Ameal) regions. They are one of the largest organic wine producers in the world. 

The Quinta dos Murcas estate was founded in 1714 and is located between the towns of Régua and Pinhão in the Cima-Corgo sub-region of the Douro Valley. Today the estate comprises some 155 hectares and is planted with dozens of the region’s native grape varieties as well as olive trees, orange trees and almond trees. The modern history of the estate began in 1973 when Manuel Pinto de Azevedo purchased the estate and renovated and replanted the vineyards. The estate remain in his family until it was purchased by Esporao in 2008.

The grapes for this wine come from a vertical vineyard (VV) planted at altitudes between 262 – 292m in 1947. The vineyard has an incline of 40% and is planted on Schistous soils. By vertical vineyard, they mean that the vines in rows that go up and down the slopes rather than left to right, following the contours of the slope that is most common in the Douro. This style of planting allows for greater planting density, more balanced production and a deeper root system, which are reflected in a better expression of its terroir . This type of planting also allows for better aeration of the plant, helping to prevent some diseases such as mildew and protecting the soils from erosion.

The grapes for the Quinta dos Murcas VV47 are hand-picked grapes and then de-stemmed, crushed and fermented with indigenous yeasts in granite ‘lagares’, with foot treading and pressing in an old-style vertical press. The wine is aged in used French oak casks for 18 months.

The wine is made from a blend of Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz and Rufete grape varieties.