2024 Quinta da Pedra Alta QPA Donzelinho Branco

DD Import
Quinta da Pedra Alta |Douro Valley |Donzelinho
A rare Douro white that graduated from experiment to estate favourite, with less than 150 dozen bottles produced..

Price:
Sale price$39.00
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In stock, ready to ship
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Description

"A new Douro star… Pedra Alta was a Quinta with an amazing history, and the potential for making serious table wines. It was massively undervalued. They were excited by the prospect of matching the amazing site with one of the best young winemakers around: João Pires."
- James Goode (Wine Anorak)

Donzelinho Branco is hardly a household name, even in the Douro, but Quinta da Pedra Alta is giving it a reason to be remembered. After four years of experimental releases, this rare white has earned a permanent place in the range, with less than 150 dozen bottles made in 2024.

It’s one of only a handful of wines bottled solely from the variety in the region. João Pires and Matt Gant grow it high on the estate, between 480 and 520 metres, where cool summer nights helped preserve its naturally lively acidity.

Wild fermentation in concrete and stainless steel keeps oak out of the picture, while ten months on lees adds substance to a wine with just 11% alcohol. Lime, lemon and a little floral lift lead into a dry, salty finish. It’s light and zesty but has enough texture to hold your attention, especially alongside oysters, scallops or ceviche.

A rare Portuguese white variety well worth trying, from a tiny release that shows the experimental side of this historic estate.  Exciting stuff!

92 points
”Made entirely from Donzelinho Branco from just 0.25 hectares of vines, this is one of only a handful of varietal examples produced in the region.”
- James Goode (Wine Anorak)

"We really want to show this place and interpret the fruit in that way... identity, freshness, and purity is the main thing."
- João Pires (Quinta da Pedra Alta Winemaker)

 

92 points - "Made entirely from Donzelinho Branco from just 0.25 hectares of vines, this is one of only a handful of varietal examples produced in the region. Fermented mainly in stainless steel, with a portion transferred to concrete Galileo, it combines delicate orange blossom aromatics with quince, mandarin and citrus peel. Salinity and wet-stone add tension and energy, while the naturally light alcohol gives the wine freshness without sacrificing substance. Only 1,750 bottles produced." - Tim Atkin MW (Tim Atkin Portugal Report 2026)

CITRUS I ZESTY I ENERGETIC

After four years of being bottled under the Prova series, we decided to officially include the wine in our portfolio as QPA Donzelinho Branco, a wine with fantastic energy and remarkable aging potential.

VINTAGE: The year was marked by a rainy winter and a mild spring, favouring grape development. Cool summer nights with moderate temperatures helped preserve grape acidity. The harvest was a prolonged one, starting on August 21 with white grapes and ending on October 4 with reds, ensuring balanced ripening. The 2024 wines show great potential, with excellent aromatic intensity and ripe.

VINIFICATION:

Once the grapes are picked, our aim throughout is to preserve the aromatics and fresh flavours by gentle handling, and by keeping the fruit and juice as cool as possible. Picked early in the morning, the grapes are whole bunch pressed as soon as they arrive at the winery and the juice drained off immediately. The juice is then fermented by wild yeasts at 18ºC, with 59% fermented in concrete and 41% in stainless steel tanks, ensuring the wine maintains primary fruit aromas and flavours. Throughout the process, minimal handling and attention to detail ensure that the delicate aromatics are not compromised. Fermented to dryness, the wine was matured sur lie for 10 months before being blended and bottled in May 2025.

Bottles Produced: 1750

COLOUR:
Pale yellow with green hues

AROMA:
Delicate aromas of lime and candied lemons

PALATE:
Bursting with citrus and lime flavours with zesty acidity and a salty finish.

SERVING TEMPERATURE:
Serve at 10 to 12 degrees centigrade

FOOD SUGGESTIONS:
Fresh oysters, Sea bass ceviche with lime and coriander, Fresh goat cheese with honey and fine herbs, Grilled scallops with lemon emulsion, Green mango, cucumber, and mint salad

CELLARING
Drink now, but will gain further complexity over the next 10 years

Suitable for Vegetarians & Vegans

VITICULTURE





Grape Varieties (%)

100% Donzelinho Branco

Soil Type

Schist

Vine Age

Grafted in 2019 onto 16-year-old Fernão Pires vines

Vines per Ha

Average 4000

Pruning Method

Single cordon

Altitude above sea Level

Between 480 and 520 metres asl

Yield

Average of 6 ton/ha

Harvest Period

28h August 2024

Harvest Method

Hand picked

VINIFICATION





Winemaker

João Pires & Matt Gant

Fermentation

Wild ferment in stainless steel and concrete tanks

Malolactic

No

Maturation

59% concrete tank; 41% stainless steel sur lie

Fining & Filtration

Bentonite | 1.2 and 0.65 micron cartridge filter

Bottling Date

20th May 2025

ANALYSIS





Alcohol (%)

11.0%

Residual Sugar (g/l)

< 0.6g/l

pH

3.04

Total Acidity (g/l)

7.08g/l

Total SO2 (mg/l)

50mg/l

Free SO2 (mg/l)

15mg/l

Price Bracket $41 to $50
Type White
Body Light Bodied
Variety Donzelinho
Country Portugal
Region Douro Valley
Critic Score 92
Alcohol 11%
Size 750ml
Vintage 2024
Closure Cork

Quinta da Pedra Alta

Quinta da Pedra Alta is a reinvigorated Douro label, and one of the most exciting producers in the region. This historic estate makes reds, whites and Ports from traditional local varieties, in a modern style all about freshness, balance and expression.

The property sits above the Pinhão River in the Douro’s Cima Corgo district. Its 35 hectares of terraced vineyards climb from 230 to 550 metres, with schist soils, different exposures and cooler upper slopes providing a broad range of fruit for blending.

Winemakers and great mates João Pires and Matt Gant bring local knowledge and an international perspective to the cellar. João is a highly regarded and experienced local winemaker, while Matt is an Englishman now based in Australia, where he founded First Drop Wines in the Barossa Valley and Gant &amp; Co. in Margaret River.&nbsp;

There’s serious history here, too. Three granite markers from the 18th-century demarcation of the Port region still stand on the property (the only remaining Douro producer containing three of these historic stones), while the terraces remain too steep for machine harvesting, making hand-picking a necessity.

Their focus is on the estate’s Portuguese varieties, including Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Barocca for reds, and Rabigato, Gouveio and Viosinho for whites. The whites are a particular reason to explore, with fruit from the higher vineyards bringing freshness and texture, alongside the estate’s substantial reds and traditional Ports.

Historic Douro vineyards, native grape varieties and an experienced and talented winemaking team make Quinta da Pedra Alta a must-try modern Portugese producer.

The incredible Douro Valley Quinta da Pedra Alta

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