Morgado do Quintao Branco

Crato Branco

Algarve, Portugal

Morgado do Quintão, owned by Filipe Caldas de Vasconcellos, is an historic estate with thousand-year-old trees in DOC Lagoa located in Algarve, the southernmost region of Portugal. The property encompasses 60 hectares of vineyards which have been in his mother’s family for generations. Recognizing the potential of these old vines, Filipe recruited winemaker Joana Maçanita for her viticulture insight and the minimal interventionalist approach to winemaking that matches the Vasconcellos family’s philosophy. Joana Maçanita, born in Lisbon with family from Algarve, Azores and Alentejo, brings not only engineering and agronomy degrees but also an extensive knowledge of Portugal’s terroir and a commitment to the same mission as Filipe: to show the potential of indigenous grape varieties Crato Branco and Tinto Negra Mole.

 Morgado do Quintão Branco is a single vineyard wine made from 40-year-old vines of an indigenous grape: Crato Branco (also known as Roupeiro or Códega), the oldest known grape in Portugal. Dry-farmed and organically farmed, this is a pure, unmitigated expression of Algarve terroir, making it a completely unique discovery in the US.