Quinta de Cidro Chardonnay
⏳ Drinking Window
2021 - 2024
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
creamy mushroom risotto, roasted chicken, grilled salmon
✨ Technical Specifications
Quinta de Cidro, located in the high-altitude zone of São João da Pesqueira within the Douro region, has a rich history dating back to its foundation by the Marquis of Soveral. Acquired by Real Companhia Velha in 1972, this estate became a pioneering ground for international grape varieties in Portugal. Situated at elevations reaching up to 600 meters, the vineyards benefit from cool mountain breezes and significant diurnal temperature shifts, allowing Chardonnay to thrive while retaining its essential acidity. The Quinta de Cidro Chardonnay is crafted using traditional Burgundian methods, including fermentation and aging in French oak barrels with regular lees stirring (bâtonnage). This process imparts a complex structure, blending the rich, buttery texture of oak-aged Chardonnay with the mineral-driven freshness characteristic of the Douro's schist soils.
🍾 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
Chardonnay
🍷 ABV
13-14%