Quinta dos Murças | Douro

Dating back to 1714, Quinta dos Murças is located in northern Portugal, in the Cima-Corgo sub-region of the Douro Valley, the oldest DOC region in the world. The Quinta dos Murças estate is situated on the right bank of the river, between the towns of Régua and Pinhão, nearly 2 hours due east of Porto. Stretching over 3.2km along the riverfront, mainly with southern exposure, the estate encompasses a total of 155 hectares, of which48 hectares are covered by vineyards planted with indigenous grape varieties.

Quinta dos Murças unique estate is characterised by its eight diverse terroirs, which are distinguished by different altitudes, exposures, variations of schist soils and vertical vineyards.

In 1947, the estate pioneered the first vertical vineyard planting in the Douro region and today, 82% of the estate vineyards are positioned vertically on steep slopes. The Quinta dos Murças team believes that vertical vineyards produce wines that better express terroir due to a number of reasons. Planting density (the number of plants per hectare) is higher with more competition between plants, which means that the roots burrow deeper, leading to greater expression of soil types. Moreover, sun exposure is more uniform, as there is no shadow from the slope, nor the vine itself. There is also greater aeration, which helps prevent disease and less erosion, increasing the preservation of terroir.

Quinta dos Murças wines benefit from their unique location bordering two of the Douro's sub-regions: Baixo Corgo's cooler, rainier climate imparts freshness and acidity to the grapes, while they obtain concentration and structure from Cima Corgo's warmer temperatures, in combination with 3.2km of riverbank and five water springs, resulting in elegant, terroir driven wines. Since 2021, all Quinta dos Murças wines are certified organic.

QUINTA DOS MURÇAS