Quinta do Quetzal

In Vidigueira, a mythical place in the deep Alentejo, Cees and Inge de Bruin, a patron of the modern arts Dutch couple, has fulfilled their long lasting passion for Portugal. In Quinta do Quetzal, a laboratory of culture, nature and gastronomy of the region, they produce wines with ancient techniques, sustainable methods and such a respect for the terroir that their wines have already been recognized by dozens of national and international awards.

Click here to check the entire catalogue of Portuguese wines from the Alentejo Region.

There are gatherings that leave an imprint on the destiny of a family and on the history of a region. When Cees and Inge de Bruin settled in Vidigueira, a village of soft plains and ancient vineyards, not many would think that their Quinta do Quetzal would be consecrated among the elite of the producers from the Alentejo region. Nowadays, with dozens of awards and a track record of success both in the country and abroad, no one questions the excellence of their virtuous work in favor of the wines of this region and of Portugal.

The farm is embellished with a remarkable cellar, due to its contemporaneous architectonical charm, capable of drawing the best from the grapes through a combination of processes that unite technology and tradition. It is here that oenologists José Portela and Rui Reguinga – whose vast experience includes projects in Bordeaux, Champagne, Argentina and Austria – develop limited productions of wines full of character that extract all the potential from the terroir, from the schist soil, from the natural inclination, from the solar exposure and from the extraordinary indigenous vine varieties adopted by the region. These wines are stored in a cellar at great depth in order to maintain a fresh temperature that harmonizes the aging of the grapes. Not very far and not by accident we can find the remains of the oldest roman cellar of the Iberian Peninsula.

The wines from Quinta do Quetzal can be briefly numbered which contrasts with their vast number of awards. The Quetzal wines are segmented in Reserva Branco, Reserva Tinto and a Cabernet Sauvignon varietal. The Quetzal Reserva Branco is made with Antão Vaz grapes from the oldest vineyards, handpicked and processed by gravity in the cellar. It is an aromatic and complex wine with tropical fruits, toast and spices, silky, with balanced acidity that has been awarded with the Gold Medal in the Wine Masters Challenge 2015 and has earned 94 points in the Ultimate Wine Challenge 2016.

The Reserva Tinto, a blend of Syrah, Alicante Bouschet and Trincadeira is a very concentrated wine, with ripe fruit, silky tannins, that ages for at least 20 months in French oak and has been awarded with Gold Medals both in the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles and in Mundus Vini 2007.

The Guadalupe wines celebrate a little chapel and its ancestral traditions. Among its several wines there is a white Winemaker’s Selection and a red one with the same designation. The first is a mineral wine, fresh, with a great complexity of aromas, one hundred percent Antão Vaz. Only part of the grapes is fermented in French oak which explains its fineness. It was awarded with a Gold Medal in Concurso Melhores Vinhos do Alentejo 2016; a Silver one in Mundus Vini 2017 and was considered one of the best of the year by Revista de Vinhos in 2016.

The Guadalupe Winemaker’s Selection Tinto gathers ripe grapes from the Syrah, Alicante Bouschet and Cabernet Sauvignon vine varieties, in a fruity wine that presents good structure and complexity and was awarded with the Gold Medal in Vinalies Internacionales 2016 and in Mundus Vini 2017.

The passionate road of the De Bruin family has flourished memorably in this noble piece of Alentejo. A land cared for with the sensitivity of artists, in a sustainable way, protecting and loving a country that they already consider their own.