Quinta de Cidro Alvarinho
⏳ Drinking Window
2021 - 2024
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
grilled sea bass, seafood risotto, fresh goat cheese
✨ Technical Specifications
Quinta de Cidro, located in São João da Pesqueira, is one of the Douro's most historic and revolutionary estates. Acquired by Real Companhia Velha in 1972, this property became a pioneering ground for non-traditional grape varieties in the region. Situated at an altitude of up to 600 meters, the vineyard benefits from cool breezes and dramatic diurnal temperature shifts, which contrast sharply with the scorching heat of the Douro Valley floor. This unique microclimate proved perfect for Alvarinho, a grape traditionally celebrated in the rainy northwest of Portugal. Here, grown in clay-slate soils, the Alvarinho grape develops a highly structured, mineral-driven character. The winemaking process typically involves fermentation in stainless steel to preserve the grape's intense primary fruit and vibrant acidity, sometimes accompanied by fine lees contact to add texture and complexity. The result is a wine that beautifully marries the aromatic intensity of the variety with the profound mineral depth of the Douro terroir.
🍾 About the Producer
Established on September 10, 1756, by Royal Charter of King D. José I under the auspices of the Marquis of Pombal, Real Companhia Velha stands as Portugal's oldest continuously operating wine company. Entrusted originally with demarcating and regulating the Douro Valley, the company was acquired by the Silva Reis family in 1960. Today, under President Pedro Silva Reis and celebrated head winemaker Jorge Moreira, Real Companhia Velha oversees more than 550 hectares across historic quintas such as Das Carvalhas, De Cidro, Dos Aciprestes, and Do Casal da Granja. While famous for benchmark Port, the house pioneered fine Douro still whites, capitalizing on high-elevation schist and granite plateaus with wide diurnal shifts. Estate whites—most prominently the Quinta de Cidro mono-varietals and field blends spanning Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Alvarinho, and Sémillon (Boal)—rely on precision viticulture and parcel-specific vinification. These wines demonstrate remarkable tension, vibrant natural acidity, and an authentic, mineral-driven reflection of the rugged Douro landscape.
🍇 Grapes
Alvarinho
🍷 ABV
13-13.5%