Boas Vinhas

Sociedade Agrícola Boas Quintas is a personal project of the oenologist Nuno Cancela de Abreu, launched in 1991 with the objective of producing estate-bottled wines from the reawakening ancient wine region of the Dâo.The philosophy underlining the project was to produce wines of high quality but of essentially Portuguese character, using the traditional native grape varieties of the region. They believe that these varieties, when well adapted to local conditions of soil, climate and viticulture, represent one of our greatest assets.Boas Vinhas currently produces fruit from 10 hectares of vineyard in three separate plots, two in Mortágua and one in nearby Nelas. The soil is granitic, acidic, low in nutrients and well-drained. At an altitude of some 200 metres, and well-protected from the Atlantic coast by the mountains of Buçaco and Carramulo, the climate is cool and damp in winter, often with spring frosts. After a hot, dry summer and growing season, autumnal rains mean that the grape picking demands careful management, and it is not infrequent to divide the harvest into two distinct phases: before and after the rain. The new plantations have a density of 3300 vines per hectare, and the selected varieties, of which 90% are red, represent the best the region has to offer.