Quinta Do Vale Meao Meandro Douro 2010

Originally owned by Dona Antonia Adelaide Ferrira, queen of the 19th century Douro Valley, Quinta Do Vale Meao was passed down through generations until the late 1990’s when the surviving relatives of Dona Anotonia Ferrira decided to sell off there last remaining shares of Vale Meao to Francisco Olazabal, an individual who the family was well acquainted with and who had worked for the Ferrira organization for many years.

In 1998, together with his son and winemaker Xito, Francisco Olazabal, took over ownership of Quinta Do Vale Meao, and after some much needed up grades to the estate, wine making facility and cellar, in 1999 produced there first inaugural vintage of Quinta Do Vale Meao.

Since that day Quinta do Vale Meao has continued to build an impressive reputation and set high standards of excellence through out the Douro. Currently the estate is under 62 hectares of vines with plantings of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Amarela, and Tinta Barro dominating. Soil make-up varies through the vineyard but for the most part are made up of slate, granite and alluvial gravel.

A little bit on Xito......
Xito Olazabal, winemaker at Quinta Do Vale Meao Like many great winemakers, Xito is totally consumed by his passion for perfection and continually strives to do better. His hard work has paid substantial dividends, evidenced by Vale Meao's great popularity with critics and consumers alike. He endorses his father's policy of two principal wines: the grand vin, Quinta do Vale Meão and a second wine, Meandro. The Olazabals share a view that all good grapes should contribute to their star wines, shunning the notion of a more diverse multi-marque approach - fearing possible dilution of quality. However, this clear focus on Vale Meao's two wines does not preclude experimentation elsewhere, Xito's latest white wine is made from grapes grown at altitude on his cousin Luis Bernardo Ferreira's property at Porrais, near Murca north-west of Vale Meão.