Many people outside of Portugal might not even have heard about this company – and that is a pity because they don’t know what they are missing.
The brothers José, António and Fernando Moreira are running the Quinta Seara D’Ordens – and they do a marvelous job.
They profit from the consequences of Portugal joining the European Union in the 1980s – because now they can bottle and sell their wines directly from the Douro Valley and don’t need to go the way through the old routine of having a storage place in Gaia. When you have such a beautiful property as this Quinta you really don’t want to operate from so far away, anyhow…
They also hope to benefit very much from the wave of Enotourism that the Douro Valley sees currently – because they provide an amazing tasting experience for visitors. They are open to receive visitors during the weekdays from 09:00-12:30 and 14:00-18:00. For a very small price (EUR 7.50) a very worthwhile tasting waits for the wine-lover (and if you buy a few bottles then there will not even be a charge for the tasting).
The Quinta has added a beautiful “Wine House” – downstairs you find the store and tasting facilities, upstairs is a large room for 50 people and more, made for events like birthday parties…
You don’t need to reserve your visit before – but I would strongly suggest to get in contact with the Quinta before you go there. If you are lucky then you will be guided by José Moreira – the best host you can imagine. His passion for everything wine related shows in his tastings – and you get an fantastic overview about the wines of the Quinta Seara D’Ordens and get taste many outstanding wines.
I personally like very much their Vintage Ports and their LBV’s – both of them are very approachable and it’s a pleasure to drink them. It might be that they don’t have the tannin-structure to last for 50+ years like the Vintage Ports from the large producers likes Graham’s and Taylor’s – but therefore you can drink them now already. For very little money you can get a lot of pleasure out of their wines.
The pricing is just phenomenal… the old problem. I am convinced that Portuguese wine producers sell their wines way too cheap. In 2016 you could buy a half-bottle (375 ml) of the really outstanding LBV 2011 Quinta Seara D’Ordens for the price of EUR 8,68!!!! Small bottles (375 ml) of the very solid Vintage 2004 are offered for EUR 14,48 and the normal size (750 ml) for EUR 25.28! The first Vintage Port was released in the year 2000 – the next vintage was 2003 and since then the Quinta has been able to launch a Vintage Port every single year! Which speaks already volumes about the quality of their wines, as it’s not easy to get the approval from the Port Wine Institute to bottle Vintage Port.
The only Tawny with an Indication of Age is so far the 10 year old Tawny – which is also very pleasant to drink. The problem of such a young company is of course that they just don’t have yet the stock of old wood-aged Ports… but that will of course come over the next decades.
As all their wines are so reasonably priced, I suggest you go for the best… Which would be in my view the Vintage 2004; the LBVs 2007 and 2011 and the 10 year old Tawny.
Besides making really nice Port Wine the company focuses of course also on non-fortified Douro Wines. They launch wines under the label of Quinta Seara D’Ordens and also under the label “Quinta do Carqueijal”. If you are not born somewhere in Portugal, I suggest you stay away from trying to pronounce “Quinta do Carqueijal”… It’s their second label, to distribute wines at very low prices without damaging the reputation of their main brand. However, these wines are solidly made and for the price of approx. EUR 4 you get very decent white, red and rose wines. The cost/quality-ratio of these wines is so appealing, you have to be fast to get them – they sell out easily.
But the real quality gems are bottled under the label “Quinta Seara D’Ordens”. While they do offer white wines, it’s easy to see that their main-work are outstanding red wines. Their flagship wines is called “TalentVs Grande Escolha”. It’s a homage to Jose Moreira, who helped to make the Quinta Seara D’Ordens to what it is today. The TalentVs Grande Escolha 2010 was elected as one of “50 Great Portuguese Wines” by Joshua Greene – but as this wine is no longer available, I suggest to try the TalentVs Grande Escolha 2012 – for less then EUR 20 you get an amazing wine with the typical Douro grapes (50% Touriga Nacional, 25% each of Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz).
It’s also nice to see that you can still find old red wines from 2008 and 2009 in the wine shop. As most Douro Wines are produced in small numbers, they are easily sold out… few of the wines are stored, most are drunk while still very young – and this is why it’s so difficult to find red Douro Wines that are older than 2 or 3 years… But the wines of the Douro have an amazing aging potential (just look at Quinta do Crasto) – so it’s nice to get a few bottles of the Reserva and TalentVs winbes from 2008n and 2009! Enjoy them as long you can get them. I suggest to buy the 2009 TalentVs and the TalentVs Grande Escolha 2012… You drink the 2009 while you watch the 2012 mature a little bit longer…
If you plan to visit the Quinta: it’s well located and easy to find. When you come from Regua you will drive through a few typical Douro Villages to get there… My teenage son and I always smiling when we drive through the little village with the beautiful name “Santo Xisto” – which translates to “Holy Shist”. Luckily there is a second “s” in Shist, isn’t it…
Opening hours: weekdays from 09:00-12:30 and 14:00-18:00
Address: Quinta Seara d’Ordens
5050-341 Poiares PRG
Telephone: 254 906 415 || Fax: 254 906 202
Email: geral@searadordens.com
GPS Coordinates: 41º 11′ 15.42” N – 7º 43′ 36.86” W