At the end of 1993, when leaving Quinta do Noval, my ambition was to support the development of independent producers in the Douro, and thus contribute to the establishment of a new and strong wave of innovation in the Region. The changes brought by this innovation had the potential to complement, and at the same time diminish, the region’s dependence on a single type of wine; port.  It must be understood that in no way was I then, or am I now, trying to get away from Port. On the contrary, I believe that Port is and will continue to be one of the truly Great Wines of the World and I remain committed to making outstanding Port wine.

The Douro, however, has more to offer. There are immense opportunities for winemaking if approached with an open mind and a willingness to try new methods of making and marketing the wines of the region.  The opportunity is greatest for Ports and wines of independent producers, where their unique personalities and special characteristics serve to differentiate them from larger, well-known brands.  In the past, these traditional Port brands have dominated the market, producing Ports (mainly Vintage Port) marketed under the name of a single vineyard as Single Quinta wines. But in most cases the brand was their first priority.

In 1986, as a result of new regulations, a small number of independent farmers started to produce, promote and sell their wines directly. These were marketed under the name of the Quinta, but only a hand-full were able to get international recognition. Among the problems that faced these independent producers was the fact that a great majority never extended their experience in the trade beyond the production of grapes.

Marketing and winemaking skill, and control over the different markets, naturally concentrated in the hands of the traditional Port companies. Independent producers tried to emulate the Brands by producing an over-extended range of Ports, from standard Rubys and old Tawnies to Vintage Ports, filling the same market space.

This, however, is not taking advantage of their strongest asset; the uniqueness of their wines. Single Quinta producers would be better served by focusing on niche products and concentrating their strengths on producing top wines. Single Quintas can complement the Brands by creating and developing new niche markets of high image, high quality wines. The primary concern of the independent producer must be quality, not volume; volume should be left to specialists, the Brand Companies.

The richness of the Douro Region and the wines produced there can and should be promoted using the very aspects that make it unique in the world; its geography, soil and climate, the numerous different high quality native grape varieties, the different style of wines those grapes can produce (from all styles of Port to white and red still wines), all the different vineyards (Quintas), and their ancient history.

Looking at the wines produced in the Douro, Port clearly stands out as the driving force. It is at the centre of the region’s great history and character. Port is basically a blend of wines from different years (Ruby, Vintage Character, 10 Year Old Tawny, etc.). Sales of these styles account for nearly 95% of all Port sales. These sales trends, along with an understanding of the strengths of Single Quinta wines lead to the conclusion that Single Quintas should concentrate production on only the best Ports and those that have an image that can be clearly and easily linked to the vineyard or Quinta. Those are all Ports with a date: Vintage Ports, Traditional Late Bottled Vintages for the segment of young wines, and old Colheitas (vintage Tawnies) for the segment of old Tawnies.  All other styles (the blended Ports) should be left to the Brands.

The next logical step for Single Quintas is to develop their own Red wines. There is a huge interest in the market for these wines. Their quality potential is immense due to the combination of the different factors (grape varieties, methods of vinification, soil, location of Quintas, etc.) that influence a wine. For example, nearly all of the old vineyards in the Douro have over 20 different grape varieties mixed together.

Following these guidelines, I started to develop wines and Ports produced exclusively from grapes grown in Single Quintas.  The initial project was at Quinta do Crasto in 1994.  Working with the Roquettes, the family that owns the Quinta and managed all aspects of the production, this idea was successfully first put into practice.

After this successful start, it was very natural to begin looking for vineyards where I could make my own wine. The first acquisition was Quinta do Vale da Mina in 1995. The following year, in 1996, Quinta do Vale Dona Maria was acquired from my wife Joana’s family. This old-vine vineyard, located in the Rio Torto Valley in the heart of the Douro Demarcated Region, had incredible potential, but also needed a great deal of work before it would begin producing really great wines.

A tremendous job of reconstruction was needed, from recovering the old vines to rebuilding every single building on the property, but the fantastic potential for quality from the old vines made this undertaking a wise investment.  Planted with grape varieties that cover a broad spectrum of the traditional Douro varieties - Tinta Amarela, Rufete, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Francesa, Touriga Nacional, Sousão, and many others - it looked as though it could provide a unique and outstanding quality base for both Ports and Douro Red Wines.  After pruning and consolidating only the best vines, the Quinta is a 19 hectare property planted with 10 hectares of over 50 year old, south to south-east facing vineyards. 

Official documents in the local Properties Registration Office mention that, in 1868, Quinta do Vale Dona Maria was registered in the name of the present owner’s 3rd grandfather, José António Teixeira de Carvalho Vaz e Sousa, whom then presented documents proving his family’s much older ownership. In 1973 the Quinta was leased to a Port company in the Symington Group. According to Chantal Lecouty’s “Le Porto” (Éditions Robert Lafont, S.A., Paris, 1989), the Quinta wines were blended for only the best Smith Woodhouse Ports. 

I took over production at Quinta do Vale D. Maria on the 1st of September 1996. At that point, there was little more that we could do than to see what kind of wines Quinta do Vale D. Maria would produce.  Here I must emphasize the incredible help and support of both Dirk Niepoort and Jorge Roquette and all his family at Quinta do Crasto, allowing and helping me to make and age all Vale D. Maria Wines and Ports at their Quintas. Little would have been done so quickly and successfully without their tremendous support.

Although 1996 was not a year of the highest quality, the first results were quite impressive. Both Red Wines and Ports had great concentration of fruit and tannins and gained a lot of elegance after some ageing in wood. They were beautifully balanced and had a long finish. 

A small experiment of Red Wine, made from grapes foot trodden in open lagares, resulted in 2.400 bottles that were used as a market trial. Niepoort aged the Ports for bottling at a later stage as LBV’s. The initial results and response from the market were very encouraging.

Immediately after the harvest the vineyard was thoroughly inspected and worked with the utmost care. A 10 year plan to recover the Quinta was put into effect: a proper survey of the different grape varieties was made as soon as it became possible; proper pruning, replanting, grafting, minimum use of herbicides and, after carefully analyzing all soils, a program of fertilization was started to ensure the survival of the old vines.

New vineyards are being added by purchasing or by long-term leases of neighboring properties. A new planting of 2 hectares of new vines is planned for 2003/2004.  These efforts will allow the vineyard to reach around 20 hectares in the near future.

In 1997 we also started to renovate the buildings of the Quinta: an old dormitory was transformed into a guest house; the old lagares were totally rebuilt and a new vinification and ageing lodge were finished in 2001; the old Port Lodge was reconditioned and is now working at full capacity.

The 1997 and following harvests confirmed the enormous quality potential of Quinta do Vale D. Maria. Market response was very good.  We are now reinforcing our knowledge and developing the quality of our vineyards and winemaking techniques. The accumulated knowledge of traditional Port making (foot treading in the lagares) combined with the most modern vinification techniques in stainless steel tanks come together here to make truly outstanding wines.

The new vinification center was built to allow our wines to reach their fullest potential. There are 5 granite stone lagares for foot treading the grapes and a total of 14 temperature controlled stainless steel tanks, 7 for automatic remontage and 7 for manual remontage, in addition to two traditional vertical presses. All of these tanks were designed to hold a maximum of 5.000 kgs of grapes, the average production of one hectare of vines.  In addition to these fermenting vats we also added 4 French oak open fermenters that hold a maximum of 2.000 kgs of grapes, all with a temperature control system. This allows us to individualize each hectare of our vineyards and to maximize the quality of our Wines and Ports.

All Red Wines are foot trodden in “lagares” for at least 24 hours before fermentation takes place in the modern stainless steel temperature controlled tanks. All Ports are foot trodden and finish their fermentation in the “lagares”.  The total volume of each wine bottled at each vintage is dictated by the quality of what is produced every year and not by any commercial volume needs. It is crucial to ensure a standard of high quality but we do not want to set a standard of style.

All our wines and Ports are unfiltered or only slightly filtered just before bottling. This ensures that they keep all their ageing potential while in bottle. This also ensures that all the exceptional fruit we seek for our wines is present at all stages. This is the case for both Ports and Douro Reds.

Our efforts are about innovation. Our wines are about personality, character, excitement, pleasure, fun, reliability, innovation, people, and life.  A small and dedicated team of viticulturists and winemakers - Sandra Tavares da Silva, Franscisco Olazábal and I - tries to make sure that all that was said above has real meaning. We hope that when tasting our wines you will feel that we have accomplished at least some of our ambitions.

Cristiano van Zeller

Quinta do Vale D. Maria, July 2003