My ongoing series of articles on Algarve wines has seen me make a few new discoveries, and here is a producer that had so far gone under my radar. Morgado do Quintão near Silves is one of the oldest wine-producing estates in the Algarve, with a history going back nearly 200 years.
When it comes to first impressions, this producer makes a mark of being very understated with their label designs, to the extent of not writing the name of the wine or the winery on the front label. This does make them a little hard to identify but they do stand out on the shelves with the bold label designs.
There are five wines in the range but so far I have only tried this rosé “palhete” and the red “clarete”, both of which impressed. These two wines retail at around €12 and can be purchased direct from the winery (along with the rest of the range) or online at morgadodoquintao.pt
I have also seen them on sale at my local Lagoa-Carvoeiro Intermarché.
The rosé is actually made from a blend of the local red Negra Mole and Crato Branco varieties. Pressed and fermented together, this is a very classy rosé with real depth of flavour.
The Negra Mole Clarete is unoaked, a light to medium bodied red that compares favourably with the other Negra Mole varietals available on the market.
First impressions are very positive indeed.
