This Algarve wine is made from Alicante Bouschet, Trincadeira and Cabernet Sauvignon. After the fermentation in Lagares the Reserva is matured in French and American oak barrels for twelve months. In the glass the Barranco Longo Reserva shows a dark ruby red colour. The nose is deep and intensive with notes of plum, amarena cherry and hints of vanilla. The taste is elegant but very, deep and complex. Reminding of a good Brunello the Reserva offers soft ripe tannins and good length. After five years of maturing the wine is at the point now, and good for further two or three years. A very good soloist or with a noble filet steak. Tasted on 24.06.2010, rating *****



Quinta do Outeiros rosé is made from Touriga Nacional, Syrah, Aragonez and Alicante Bouschet red wine grapes. Clear pink colour, good but not to intensive. First impression is the slight scent of strawberry that continues on the palate. Being neither really fresh nor voluminous the wine is good to go with grilled gambas or on ice as afternoon drink. Very often the red wine producer separates a part of the juice after some hours of maceration to receive a higher skins percentage in the most. The aim is not to produce a tasty rosé but to get a more concentrated red wine, this might be a reason for the weak appearance of this wine. Tasted on 14.06.2010, rating **

2008 Paxá Tinto
Vinho Regional Algarve

The red wine of the is made from the same grapes as the rosé, Touriga Nacional, Syrah, Aragonez and Alicante Bouschet. It shows dark ruby colour with violet reflexes.  The scent of the Paxá Tinto is not opulent with hints of coffee and dark fruit. On the palate the Paxá Tinto is of good volume with some crispy tannins. Aromas of cherry with coffee and vanilla notes. Smooth but short finish. The Paxá Tinto is a wine the offers some fun, even if it does show a style of international modern Syrah. Tasted on 16.06.2010, rating ***

This white wine is made from Siria grapes, one of the typical white grape of the Algarve. Clear golden colour. In the nose there seems to be a hint of citrus at first, but after this small fruity Algarve sunbeam there are aromas reminding of mushroom, mint and some scents of a weak Madeira or Sherry. On the palate there is a estimate of viscosity, but the taste is empty without any fruit and with a surprising strong and isolated acidity, slightly bitter finish. As it is often difficult for a cooperation to find way to combine the interests of the winegrowers, members and the cellar master this wine is a sample for a failed attempt. Fortunately this wine is not representative for today’s Algarve white wines. Tasted on 09.06.2010, rating *

2005 Terras da Luz Reserva Tinto
Tavira DOC
This wine is made from Castelão and Touriga-Nacional grapes, maturation was made in Barriques of French Oak for 15 months. Ruby garnet color with violet reflexes. Deep and vibrant nose of red and black berries and distinct notes of vanilla and toast from the cask. On the palate the wine shows adequate volume and consistently the aromas of the nose, the tannins are still young and crisp, nevertheless the wine is already harmonic with integrated oak aroma and of a good depth.  Nice finish of medium lenght. Even if the wine is not to complex and rural in a positive sense it is a good soloist and accompanies grilled meat, steak or dry sausage or Jamón Ibérico.  Tasted on 08.03.2010, rating ****

2009 Marquês dos Vales Grace Vineyard Branco
Vinho Regional Algarve
This white wine is made from the best selected Arinto, Malvasia Fina and Siria grapes of the winery. It is fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks and afterwards matured in french oak Barriques for four months. Light golden is the colour,  not to intensive. Even more intense is the nose of the Grace Branco 2009 with aromas of peach, lychee, tropical fruits, hints of hazelnut and toast. It is not a superficial nose like  a overseas wine, but deep complex and defined.  On the palate the wine offers the same aromas as in the nose with good volume, not to massive, balanced acidity and the perfect dose of wood contributing a long finish with hints of vanilla. This is big wine cinema. It comes from an origin of which we think that it is not a whitewine territory – but sorry it is close to perfection! Algarve can offer delicate whites. Solo, or with grilled shell fish or poultry. Tasted on 06.05.2010, rating: *****

2009 Marquês dos Vales Primeira Selecção Rosé
Vinho Regional Algarve
This rosé is fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks for six months.  The used grape variety is Castelão. Shining rosé in the glass invites for the first sip. Elegant nose of cassis and strawberries. Fruity on the palate with intensive structure and with the respectable length of  a powerful rosado. Perfect with a half warm octopus salad or grilled chicken, refreshing on the terrace. Tasted on 02.05.2010,  rating: ***

2007 Marquês dos Vales Segunda Edição Tinto
Vinho Regional Algarve
This red wine is made from Touriga Nacional and Alicante Bouschet grapes matured in steel tanks, the third grape Castelão is  matured in barrels of French oak for 18 months. The separate vinification of the single grapes is a modern method for high class wines, it makes it possible to manage the taste of the cuvee exactly when combining the single wines before the filling. Light ruby-red with violet and some brown reflexes. Fresh opened the wine is presenting a vivid nose of Amarena-cherry spices and lovage, not very persistent. On the palate the wine offers fine tannins with aromas of cherry followed by caramel, some chocolate and some  toast, round and harmonic. It is a wine that goes good with a dish grilled meat or fish to be enjoyed within the first three to five years. 2009 this wine won the gold medal at the Concours Mondial at Bruxelles. 8,95€ at the winery is a fair price. Tasted on 22.04.2010,  rating: ***

2008 Marquês dos Vales Grace Touriga Nacional Tinto
Vinho Regional Algarve
This wine is made from 100% Touriga Nacional red grapes. After the fermentation in stainless steel tanks it was matured for almost 12 month in french Barriques. Quite compact ruby with purple reflexes. Without decanting the wine is very closed. Only after some hours of air it begins to develop a soft perfume of  dark fruits. The structure reminds of a traditional Bordeaux with solid tannins and robust acidity. Good to go with a spicy meat dish – roast kid algarve. Tasted on 02.05.2010,  rating: **

2007 Marquês dos Vales Grace Vineyard Tinto
Vinho Regional Algarve
This red wine is made from Cabernet, Aragonez and Castelâo. It was matured in oak barrels for nearly two years and kept in the bottle for six further months before selling. The colour is deep purple. In the nose the wine shows elegance with very fine aromas of dark fruits and superficial toast. On the palate it is smooth, not to voluminous. For a wine gourmet there is a lack of complexity and depth, but it is a good wine for easy drinking or to go with roast meat. Tasted on 07.05.2010, rating **

We grow wine at its most simple way – 100% natural. That sounds easy, but it is not. For exemple the soils in mountains of the Algarve are very poor, and our vines starve. Some doses of the modern chemical fertilizers would give them much more power. But we do not need this extra growth as the basis of our naturally concentrated wine is the very low yield. Some years the use of copper and sulfur for treating the vines against cannot be circumvented.

The picking of the grapes is done 100% by hand, to start the selection in the vineyard. This is the only way to prevent damage and varying quality of the grapes. After the harvest we wait for the fermentation to start by the wild yeasts that are naturally living on the grapes. These yeasts are one reason for the different taste of every single vintage, as the types of yeast change every year. The only ingredient we have to use is a little sulfur dioxide to stabilize the wine for transport and storage.

Air, Earth, Water, Sun, the footsteps of the winegrower as fertilizer and an oak barrel, that’s all we need.

In Mythology, Luso was son or companion of Bacchus, the god of winery and vegetation. Mythically, Lusitania gained its name from Luso. Lusitania was an ancient Roman province in the present day Portugal. During the Roman rule over Portugal, the vineyard culture greatly developed, as the region supplied Rome with its wines. The wines became popular in Rome, leading to the demand being superior to wine production.

During the Reconquista in the 12th and 13th centuries, with the populating (povoamento) of the conquered territories, areas that due to religion the Arabs reduced wine production, and planting grapevines were a priority. During this period, some new varieties were added to the ancient ones, from Burgundy came the French varieties. And during the period of discoveries, Henry the Navigator brought to the newly discovered island of Madeira the Moscatel and Malvasia from the Greek Island of Crete.

Due to historical reasons, England was to where Portuguese wines were most exported. Exports of Portuguese wines from Northern Portugal to England are known since the 12th century. From this commerce a wide variety of wines started to be grown in Portugal. And, in 1758, the first wine-producing region of the world, the Região Demarcada do Douro was created under the orientation of Marquis of Pombal, in the Douro Valley. The demarcated region had the aim to guarantee the production of excellent quality wines.

In the reign of King Charles (in Portuguese Dom Carlos Fernando Luís Maria Victor Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Xavier Francisco de Assis José Simão de Bragança Sabóia Bourbon Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha) at the end of the 19th century, the Região Demarcada do Vinho Verde and the Região Demarcada do Dão among Colares, Carcavelos, Setúbal, and Madeira were created. These wines were already famous before the creation of the Demarcated region. In 1979, Bairrada was added and in 1980 the Algarve region (Lagoa, Lagos, Portimão, and Tavira) was finally demarcated. In 1998, the Alentejo region was demarked by the fusion of several smaller demarked regions created in 1995.

Portugal is home to one of the greatest international wine success stories of modern times. That is the production and marketing of medium sweet, lightly sparking rosés. In the late 1980s, Mateus accounted for over 40% of the country’s total table wine exports and was especially popular in Europe. Lancers is better known in the United States, where it continues to be successful.

In recent years more and more premium wines of high quality are produced in the most wine regions of Portugal. Starting in the Douro Valley the quality initative spreads over the country. Dão, Bairrada, Terras do Sado, Estremadura, and last but not least the Alentejo. All these regions developed a new confidence in quality of the own varieties and wines. Portugal became so innovative in wine production that some call it the European California.

But this process did not yet reach the south of the country. Today there is no premium Algarve wine. If you find Algarvian wine of better quality it is not made from the traditional grapes. Still cultivation rights are sold from the Algarve to other wine regions of Portugal, mainly to the prospering Alentejo. There might be a connection of this backwardness of the Algarve in the matters of wine to the settlement of the Moors in the region. A further point may be the prejudice of the wine scene that it is not possible to produce premium wine in the constantly warm climate of the southern Iberian Peninsula.

The Moors went away hunderds of years ago and in the close-by Cadiz region high-class wines, even highest in Parker rating are produced latterly. So we decided to start these changes in the Algarve. On our own property new vines planted of the traditional varieties Periquita and Negra Mole are planted. We are gathering old traditional vineyards, the “secret gardens”, for recovery, even if the land was not worked on for years.