Douro - Quinta do Infantado

Quinta do Infantado was founded in 1816 in the Cima Corgo sub-region of the Douro, considered its finest zone for both Port and dry wines by the Portuguese crown heir D. Pedro IV, hence the name of the estate: “Infante” is Portuguese for "prince". The Roseira family has owned it since the end of the 19th century.

Today, Infantado is run by third generation João Roseira (winemaker and vineyard manager) and his sister-in-law Catarina Roseira (CEO), who oversee family holdings of about a hundred hectares.

Up until the 1970’s, like most small growers, Infantado sold their wines off to large shippers; they then made the radical decision to go it alone, becoming the first estate to not sell or buy fruit or wine and to exclusively bottle estate-grown wines. At that time, their wines could not even be sold outside of Portugal: the law allowed only shippers with a commercial cellar in the town of Vila Nova di Gaia on the Douro near the coast to export. Given its location and small size well upriver, Infantado did not have and never intended to have such—only when the law changed in 1986 (when Portugal joined the EU) were they able to sell beyond their home country.

The greatest uniqueness of Infantado Port is right in every bottle they make. The estate is famous for producing ports that are “meio-seco” or medium-dry in style. This starts in their vineyards, which are all ‘Class A’(the equivalent of Grand Cru status in the DOC regulation), even the entry level Ruby & Tawny bottlings. Into the winery, the hand-picked grapes ferment long and slowly in lagares (2-foot high stone tanks) and are still foot “trodden”. Less than 2% of Port is still made by this century old, labor-intensive method. Infantado’s wines have more natural alcohol and less sugar than other ports, meaning that less “aguardente” or grape brandy has to be added. They simply allow more extended fermentation and both delay and diminish the intervention that defines Port. The wines are therefore more vinous (still wine-like), more balanced and drier than most ports. In fact, Robert Parker has said of Infantado’s best vintage Port: “A saturated, black/purple color is followed by a huge, ripe, pure nose of jammy blackberry and cassis fruit that is vaguely reminiscent of such great 1990 Hermitages as Chapoutier’s Le Pavillon, Jaboulet’s La Chapelle, or Chave’s red label Cuvee Cathelin. Awesome concentration, massive body, an unctuous texture oozing with fruit, glycerin, and extract, and a blockbuster finish”.

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