With the aim of creating great classics in the Alentejo, the first 6 ha of vineyards were planted in 1989. Through successive trials and adaptations, Miguel Louro realized that the key to achieving his goal was a peculiar viticulture, not only with regard to the careful choice of grape varieties as well as the unusual training of the vines, mostly planted in unirrigated schist soils, with low productivity. In the current 33 ha of vineyards, the Aragonez, Alicante Bouschet, Touriga Nacional and Trincadeira, Arinto, Antão Vaz and Verdelho grape varieties reign, along with international varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Syrah or Petit Verdot.
«When speaking about Quinta do Mouro wines, nothing is simple, traditional, logical or simply classifiable according to the usual standards that rule the industry… Among the many unique features stand the soils of some of the vineyards, mostly based on schist, a less common condition in the Alentejo.
In addition to the unusual soils (schist), viticulture is most probably the main secret of Quinta do Mouro, a unique viticulture not only because of the choice of grape varieties, but also because of its unusual ways of training the vines… wild vineyards, without the aesthetic drive for creating a landscaped garden that other vineyards show.»
– Fugas, Jornal Público, 04.07.2015
AN EXTREME VINEYARD: 33 hectare without irrigation, in low-yelding schist based soils.
