Quinta de Cidro Pinot Noir
⏳ Drinking Window
2022 - 2026
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted duck, creamy mushroom risotto, seared tuna steak
✨ Technical Specifications
Quinta de Cidro, located in the high-altitude plateau of São João da Pesqueira within the Douro region, serves as Real Companhia Velha's open-air laboratory for international grape varieties. Situated at an elevation of nearly 600 meters, the estate benefits from cool breezes and significant diurnal temperature shifts, creating a unique microclimate that defies the typical scorching heat of the Douro Valley. Here, the delicate Pinot Noir grape finds an unexpected home in schist-dominant soils. Real Companhia Velha's pioneering efforts with this Burgundian variety have yielded a wine that beautifully marries the grape's signature elegance with the mineral intensity of the Portuguese terroir. The wine is typically fermented in stainless steel with precise temperature control and aged in French oak barriques to develop complexity while preserving its bright red fruit character.
🍾 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
Pinot Noir
🍷 ABV
13% - 14%