The history of Quinta Vale D. Maria starts in 1996, when it was acquired by Cristiano Van Zeller and his wife Joana. The property had been in Joana’s family for many years. A huge restoration of the property needed to take place, as well as increasing of vineyards through new plantings and long-term leases.
Today, Quinta Vale D. Maria has 31 hectares of vineyards. The family owns 16 hectares and they are planted to vines 60-80 years old. There are 10 hectares which have a long lease with vines between 25 and 80 years, and new plantings of 5 hectares occurred in 2004 and 2007.
The team behind Quinta Vale D. Maria is an impressive one. The Van Zeller’s have been involved in the Douro and Port trade since the late 1700’s. They owned Quinta do Noval, until it was sold in 1993. Cristiano Van Zeller was the manager of Noval until that point. His other team members include famed consulting winemaker Sandra Tavares da Silva (owner of Pintas), and full-time winemaker Joana Pinhão.
The Douro region of Portugal has received a great deal of attention in recent years. A country with wines as great as those in Portugal must be an indication that it has made its way to the arena of the great wine producing countries. In 2014’s Wine Spectator Top 100, the Douro logged three of the top five spots. Pretty impressive.
With each new vintage it is important to remember that generalizations about the vintage don’t paint the whole picture. If you have ever been to the Douro you know it offers many different expositions, elevations, and even slight changes to the soils. Different Douro estates, within a few kilometers, all experience variations in vintage that ultimately impact their wines.
A range of wines is made at Quinta Vale D. Maria, from their value range called “Rufo” to the estate red, Curriculum Vitae, two single vineyards, and of course Port. The estate wines and Ports are very limited in terms of quantity can often be difficult to find.
