Morgado do Quintão is a restored family estate located in the Serra de Monchique in the Algarve. Founded in the early 19th century by the 1st Count of Silves, Francisco Manuel Pereira Caldas, this quinta has been in the possession of the same family since its foundation, now in the fourth generation.
Morgado do Quintão has been a tireless guardian, in the long history of winegrowing in the Algarve, of the cultivation of vines and an authentic patron of traditional grape varieties and winemaking techniques.
Located in Lagoa, a municipality with great wine-making traditions, this estate had some of the largest vineyard areas in the Algarve and survived the tourism boom of the 1980s and 1990s which devastated much of the good agricultural land and vineyards. In more recent decades, production was conducted to the cooperative winery of Lagoa.
Since 2017, it is Filipe Caldas de Vasconcellos who takes over the destinies of the estate, a legacy from his mother Teresa Pereira Caldas de Vasconcellos (1941-2017), a contemporary experimental artist and teacher who through her creative exploration honed a deep connection to the land. Filipe kept what was good and bet on tradition with a strong dose of modernity and innovation, which serves as a motto to make a difference.
With genuine and distinctive ingredients at his disposal, such as the Crato white grape variety and the very old and native Algarve Negra Mole, he manages to ensure that the wines demonstrate the freshness and Atlantic saltiness of his terroir. Castelão completes the predominant trio of grape varieties planted in 13 hectares of vineyards. The oldest vines are over 70 years old. Filipe makes every effort to point out the long tradition of wine in the Algarve, "everyone talks about the Douro, which is a reference, antiquity, history. But, long before the Douro, we were already making wine here in the Algarve".
All this, together with the sandy soils, sustainability, the biological certification, which is currently underway, free of herbicides and pesticides in his vineyards. He vinifies his wines using a logic of low intervention in the winery. Together with the oenologist Joana Maçanita, they adopt a philosophy of "more land and less man". A crucial element in this philosophy is Amândio Cruz, one of the best viticultural consultants in Portugal.
They immediately made their mark with the first wines from the 2016 harvest, a Clarete and a Palhete. Other wines followed, a reds white and another in amphora, which were very well received by connoisseurs and beyond, leading to a number of honours and awards that proclaim a consensual quality. The presence of Morgado do Quintão wines in some of the best restaurants in Portugal and abroad is a further guarantee of the good acceptance and positioning of the wines. Attracting renewed interest in the region and its wines is one of the focuses and missions.
The image and the visuals have not been compromised. Nor could it in an artist's house. Thus, the labels boast a minimalist and modern aesthetic. Some of the labels were designed by artists, including Filipe's mother.
Wine tourism is a very evolved and sophisticated offer. Accommodation in "cottages", wine tasting, events, parties, artists' residence, artistic manifestations, among others, reveal the many possibilities of Morgado do Quintão.