I will never forget my first sip of 1999 Quinta do Portal Vintage Port. Not only was it my first taste of Portal’s Port, but it was my very first sip of any '99 Vintage Port. It’s still one of my favorite VPs vinified by this producer and definitely at the apex of that under-appreciated vintage. My early impressions of Quinta do Portal were informally formed at the Port Wine Institute’s tasting in Seattle back in February 2002. I became far more familiar with the across-the-board quality of the Ports produced by this Quinta during a subsequent tasting in May, at London’s International Wine & Spirits Fair and then during a full-throttle visit to the Quinta during the summer of 2003, along with a cadre of wine journalists.

Comprising a total of four Quintas with over 100 hectares of vineyards, and lots of prime vineyard acreage suited for future growth, this family-owned and independent “Single Quinta” Port shipper is aggressive and ambitious. Their first release of Port was in 1994, although Portal had been producing DOC Douro wines since 1986. But this is not just another upstart wine company; it is a well-financed operation with impressive aspirations and a strong sense of direction and keen vision.

Under the supervision of Pedro Mansilha Branco, whose family has owned Quinta dos Muros since the late 1800s, Quinta do Portal has seen the quality of its Ports improve rapidly in the last decade. Tradition is firmly in place as Muros is still held by the family and they continue to use the old stone lagares there. But Quinta do Portal is Branco’s primary property, with state-of-the-art production, tasting and a beautiful newly redesigned visitor’s center. It is here that tastings take place and the large main building is situated on a serene and breathtaking piece of land, surrounded by vines as far as the eye can see.

The Quinta of Quinta do Portal began in 1994, but in its past life it was called Quinta Casal de Celeirós. An amazing and little known story that I have researched is that this property was the only one in the entire Douro region that was not affected by Phylloxera. How that particular root louse missed this particular parcel of vineyards is a matter of lore and only the owner at that time, Sr. Arnaldo Alves de Sousa knows the truth. But it is said, that he contacted a French chemist (M.H. Joulie) circa 1880, and followed the steps of the "chemical analysis" he received. Whether or not that was what worked or if it was actually just divine intervention, we'll never really know. However, the fact remains the same.

Another fun factoid is that Celeirós was one of the very earliest Quintas to employ women to tread grapes in the lagares. Record of this goes back to the author Henry Vizetelly (1840-1902) whom during the latter part of the 19th century penned: "The young women skillfully gathered their garments up around them. When all was duly adjusted they sprang into the lagar, and, delighted with their task, danced for a time among the grapes with the frenzy if not the grace of a troop of wild Bacchanals. The sight was certainly amusing, although the proceeding was, perhaps, not exactly a decorous one."

Before the Branco family came to rescue this property, the grapes were used by Sandeman throughout the 1960s - 1980s, who disposed of the buildings in 1985 and land in 1991. The Quinta had fallen on bad times and into disrepair and was used for a time as a school and local parish meeting hall. The vineyards however, never stopped producing. When Pedro Mansilha Branco and his family took over, there was a lot of hard work to be done and significant investment required. Today, Quinta do Portal is one of the growing numbers of family-owned, Single Quinta wine businesses which are flourishing across the Douro. New markets are penetrated as their Ports continue to receive worldwide acclaim and Portal’s Douro wines are steadily improving.