Quinta da Ribeirinha — Tejo, Portugal

The Tagus runs through the middle of Portugal, and Quinta da Ribeirinha sits on its north bank at Póvoa de Santarém, in the part of Ribatejo the locals call the Bairro — a stretch known for wine and olive oil, surrounded by castles and old monasteries.

It’s a family estate, several generations deep, and they do everything themselves: growing, harvesting by hand, making, bottling, even the sparkling production and the labelling. Three properties — Quinta da Ribeirinha, Terra da Vinha and Vale de Lobos — make up nearly 95 hectares, 60 of them under vine.

What we like is the grape list. Fernão Pires, Arinto, Verdelho, Moscatel, Castelão, Trincadeira, Aragonez, Alicante Bouschet and Touriga Nacional sit alongside Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Portuguese varieties first, internationals where they actually work.

The whites are built on Fernão Pires, the region’s best white grape — the Vale de Cabanas is the fresh, unoaked version, all citrus and orange leaf at 12%, while the Vale de Lobos spends time in wood and comes out with mango and pineapple and a faint toast. That one’s certified vegan.

Roger Voss gave the Vale de Lobos red 90 points in Wine Enthusiast, noting the chalk and clay soils behind it. The Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon took 90 points too.

Portugal beyond Porto and the Douro is still a discovery for most people. The Tejo is where we’d start.

Grapes Grown