“Oh my God, this company is older than my country” – The US ambassador on a visit to Real Companhia Velha in the 1970s.

Real Companhia Velha is the oldest wine company in Portugal, having recently celebrated 265 years of constant trading since 1756.

In the mid-18th century, there was a crisis with the port market due to a reduction of exports, extreme low prices & the situation being worsened by the fact the trade was dominated & controlled by British merchants.

With the support of a number of personalities including the King D. Jos I, the Portuguese Prime Minister Sebastiao Jose de Carvalho e Melo, aka the Marquis of Pombal, a decision was made to create a chartered company. Its aim was to break the monopoly of the English Trading Post, to balance supply & demand, to ensure the quality & authenticity of the product & to protect it from disloyal competition by wines from other parts of the kingdom. All of this with royal approval & it soon became one of the Portuguese states greatest sources of income. This was the origin of Real Companhia Velha.

Since 1960, Real Companhia Velha has been run by the Silva Reis family, who have dedicated their efforts to the production of both port & Douro wines, focusing on the study & development of the Douro terroir & sustainability.

The 3rd generation of the family has Pedro Silva Reis Junior as the resident winemaker, Pedro Silva Reis, his father, as the Master Blender (for over 40 years) & Tiago Silva Reis developing the market to show a company that combines innovation with tradition in the 5 Quintas they own, which are considered some of the best in the Douro Valley.

Vinification

Quinta de Cidr is located at So Joo da Pesqueira, which is one of the most highly regarded areas of the Douro Valley. Throughout the last 20 years, Cidr has been transformed into an experimental-model vineyard for the entire region. In virgin soils, cutting edge techniques were employed to plant 150 ha of the best varieties, creating one of the largest surfaces of single vineyard in the entire Douro Region.

Touriga Nacional is Portugals star variety and the dominant red grape at Quinta de Cidr. The altitude of this Quinta provides excellent freshness and levels of acidity, ideal conditions for an elegant red wine.

Winemaking Process: Grapes are handpicked and transported to the winery in 20kg boxes. After being manually sorted, the grapes are de-stemmed are slightly crushed before moving into the fermentation vat. The must is fermented in stainless steel vats, at a 24-26C. The wine ages in new and used French oak barrels for a period of 12 months before bottling.

Tasting Notes

A beautiful red of deep garnet colour, showing good aromatic complexity with notes of violet flowers, dark plums, ripe cherry, red berries and spices offering this wine a very special character. On the palate, it shows great balance, with flavours matching its nose combined with delicate hints of bergamot. It is round, elegant, yet the tannins are quite vibrant and juicy, the finish is powerful and lingering.

A versatile red that can pair nicely with both meat and fish. Rib-eye steak or roasted octopus. Beautiful with pea and sage risottos and pasta dishes with some chili.