Duorum Estate, Douro

On the banks banks of the upper Douro around Vila Nova de Foz Coa and Castelo Melhor, lies this astonishing plantation, with in excess of 160 hectares going under vine. This is a massive undertaking, and outstrips the normal size of neighbouring vineyards many-fold. Jose Maria Soares Franco and business partner João Portugal Ramos pounced on Quinta do Castelo Melhor, which rises to 485m in 2006, when it was the only place on the shadier, north-facing left bank of the Douro between the river Coa and Spanish border yet to be planted.

DUORUM expresses the terroir of the fantastic Douro region. A Latin expression meaning "from two", a project from two oenologists, from two regions, grapes from two different areas around the Douro, grapes from two altitudes.