J. A. Coutinho H.os - Quinta de Mosteirô

J. A. Coutinho H.os - Quinta de Mosteirô is rated 3 out of 5 in the category wine and spirits. Read and write reviews about J. A. Coutinho H.os - Quinta de Mosteirô. The Quinta de Mosteirô is located in the Northeast of Portugal, surrounded by mountains that grant it particular mesological and climatic characteristics. It belongs to the Douro Region (Baixo Corgo sub-region), classified by the UNESCO as World Heritage Site in December 2001. In this region, bathed by the Douro River, wines have been produced for more than 2000 years, and it is the cradle of one of the most famous wines in the world: the Port Wine. The Douro Region is also the earliest delimited and controlled region to be recognized in the world. Its creation began during the reign of King José I, by the hand of his Prime Minister Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo (the future Marquis of Pombal) through the formation of the General Company of the Agriculture and Wines of Upper Douro (by law of 1756). The oldest references to the Quinta de Mosteirô date from the 12th century (Fernandes, 1991-1993: vol. I, 80, doc.74). However, the first (known) register in which the wine production is referred dates from the middle of the 16th century, in the writing of Rui Fernandes “Description of the Terroir Around Lamego (1531-1532)”. According to the same document, the quality of the terroir and high production of the Quinta de Mosteirô put it among the biggest vinicultural Douro estates of that time. Because all the wine produced in the estate was of high quality, it was all considered “wine for shipment” (“vinhos de carregação”). At the time these were the only wines considered apt for exporting because of their high quality. In 1983, the Quinta de Mosteirô was bought by José Arnaldo Coutinho and in 1991, under the lead of his son Manuel Coutinho, the vineyards were recovered following the local and the EEC directives for the production of DOC and Port wines. The vineyards were completely replanted with the noble grape varieties of the region in separated and identified strips of land that enable the making of monovarietal wines.