Quinta de Cidro Marquis Branco
⏳ Drinking Window
2021 - 2024
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Creamy mushroom risotto, roasted sea bass, roasted poultry
✨ Technical Specifications
Quinta de Cidro, situated on a high-altitude plateau in São João da Pesqueira, serves as a pioneering model vineyard for Real Companhia Velha. Acquired in 1972, this historic estate—once home to the Marquis of Soveral—benefits from cool breezes and altitudes reaching 600 meters, making it ideal for cultivating both noble Portuguese and international varieties. The 'Marquis' Branco is a tribute to the Marquis of Pombal, who founded the company by Royal Charter in 1756. This sophisticated white wine is crafted from Chardonnay and Semillon, which are fermented and aged in French oak barrels with regular battonage. The resulting style is highly structured, seamlessly blending the crisp acidity of the high-altitude terroir with a rich, buttery complexity and subtle toasted notes.
🍾 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, Semillon
🍷 ABV
13.5-14%