Quinta Dona Matilde is among the oldest properties in the Douro region, part of the first demarcation decreed by the Marquis of Pombal in 1756.
Located on the north bank of the Douro River, in the Bagaúste dam area, not far from Régua, the farm has 28 hectares of vineyards, installed between 50 and 300 meters and with a large river front.
Always dedicated to the production of Port Wine, all Quinta Dona Matilde vineyards have letter A, the highest classification of vineyards for the production of Port Wine, it was part of the properties with authorization to produce “factory wines”, the best wines, those destined for export.
In addition to the vineyard, the property has a centenary olive grove, vegetable garden, orchard and even an area of land with natural vegetation, which includes the so-called mortories, totaling 93 hectares of intense biodiversity.
Quinta Dona Matilde came to the Barros family through the hands of Manoel Moreira de Barros, in 1927, the great businessman who founded the Porto Barros wine group. It was a period of great development for the family wine business. In honor of his wife Manoel de Barros he changed the name of the farm, then called Enxodreiro, to Dona Matilde.
As part of the Barros group, which was sold in 2006, Quinta Dona Matilde ended up returning to a part of the family, a few months after the sale, when Manuel Ângelo Barros, grandson of the founder, decided to acquire it, maintaining its connection to the Douro.
Manuel Ângelo Barros, who had accepted his father's appeal in 1975 and for three decades dedicated his professional life to the world of Port Wine, managing the family business, but also in the collective life of the sector.
From the acquisition and together with his son, Filipe Barros, in 2007 the first DOC Douro Dona Matilde wines were launched on the market. The production of Port Wine was not forgotten and the emphasis was placed solely on the higher quality categories, mainly Vintage Port and Porto Colheita.
Later in time, together with the team, they began to meticulously study their old vines aged between 80 and 90 years. Work that led to an experimental and innovative process that resulted in the creation of a new superior range by Dona Matilde, the
Dona Matilde Vinha dos Calços Largos and Dona Matilde Vinha do Pinto, both reds and both from the property's historic vineyards.
Dona Matilde Vinha dos Calços Largos is a wine produced from grapes from a vineyard that is over 80 years old and about 30 traditional Douro grape varieties, fermented with indigenous yeasts, of gentle extraction and the particularity of being entirely vinified and aged in stainless steel, without any recourse to the use of wood, something unique in the making of wines from older vines. The idea is to show the purest, most primary character of the estate's old vines and at the same time demonstrate that it is possible to make great wines without aging in barrels, in which the only thing that stands out is the natural harmony of the well cared for old vines.
Dona Matilde Vinha do Pinto is the oldest vineyard at Quinta Dona Matilde, with 90 years old and about 30 varieties mixed in a field blend, grapes that are traditionally used to produce the best lots of Vintage Port. It is a historic vineyard that testifies and reports the Douro and its history. These are strains from the first generation of post-phylloxera vines, the disease that decimated the Douro at the end of the 19th century, cared for, year after year, by successive heirs, from great-grandfather to great-grandchildren, and still, so long ago, capable of give rise to a surprising wine: intense, aromatic, complex and elegant. They are vines from the past that have their own and exclusive character. They carry with them a great deal of empirical knowledge of viticulture at the time. As Filipe Barros, the heir of the fourth generation responsible for the farm's marketing department, points out, “This is what revitalizing the viticultural heritage is all about. It is about taking care of the legacy and giving it life through wines that are the maximum expression of the place”.
Inaugurated with the 2019 harvest, it is a wine with little intervention in the cellar and without aging in wooden barrels, an option that ensures the exuberance of aromas, while maintaining the elegance and complexity characteristic of Dona Matilde wines.
Port Wine is a legacy that remains alive and is the foundation of the Dona Matilde project, and the wine with which Manuel Ângelo Barros built his professional career for decades. In addition to management, Manuel Ângelo has always closely followed the work in the tasting room and the taster (a figure of the highest importance in the production of Port Wine blends), in addition to having studied at the main schools of oenology and tasting, to which is added privileged contact with big names in Port Wine, acquiring a priceless wealth of knowledge about the sector.
In addition to the quality of the grapes and brandy used, winery work in the tradition of the Barros family results in original generous wines full of personality.
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