Part II: Quinta do Combro and the Old Vines of the Douro

Portuguese Wines the World Doesn't Yet Know About
Part II: Quinta do Combro and the Old Vines of the Douro

There are estates in the Douro Valley that exist to impress. And there are farms that exist to be authentic.
Quinta do Combro , by JM Calem, clearly belongs to the second group — and that's precisely what makes it special.

Located in the Douro Valley, Portugal, Quinta do Combro produces wines from old vines using a field blend system—a concept that deserves explanation. In the old Douro vineyards, the grape varieties were not planted separately, but mixed side-by-side in the same vineyard, as was tradition. Each plot is a puzzle of grape varieties—Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Tinta da Barca, and other lesser-known but equally old varieties—harvested and fermented together.
The result is a wine that fully reflects the terroir, without the intervention of modern selection methods.
It's pure authenticity.

JM Calem, with deep roots in the Douro Valley and Port wine, brings to this estate an experience and a philosophy of respect for the land that can be felt in every bottle.

The Quinta do Combro range

The Quinta do Combro wine range covers the entire spectrum — from white to red, including rosé — with a stylistic consistency rarely found in such a comprehensive selection.

Combro Branco Douro DOC

Combro Branco is a white wine from the Douro Valley known for its freshness, acidity, and well-defined flavors. The Douro's white grape varieties—Rabigato, Gouveio, Viosinho, and Códega de Larinho, the four quintessential Douro grapes, complemented by Alvarinho—produce a white wine with its own personality: it's not a wine of exuberant fruit, but of balance and tension. Ideal to accompany grilled fish, seafood, or fresh cheeses.

Combro Rosé Douro DOC

Combro Rosé is produced from red grapes sourced from old vines, using a light direct pressing technique—a method that extracts only the color and aroma from the skins, without the tannins. The result is a fresh rosé, with the complexity that old vines always bring, but with the lightness and vivacity expected from this type of wine. An elegant introduction to Quinta do Combro for those unfamiliar with the range.

Degrau do Combro Tinto Douro DOC

Degrau do Combro is the entry point to the estate's red wines—and what an entry it is. Made with grapes from old vines, controlled fermentation with indigenous yeasts (the yeasts naturally present in the grapes themselves and in the winery, without the addition of commercial yeasts) and aging in wood, it's a wine that already reveals much of the estate's character: ripe fruit, subtle spice, and a freshness that the high-altitude Douro region is known for providing. The name " Degrau " is a reference to the schist terraces that characterize the Douro landscape.

Combro Tinto Douro DOC

Combro Tinto is the heart of the line. Described as a wine of great authenticity, produced from grapes from old vines in a field blend, it reflects the most genuine aspects of the Douro: intensity without exaggeration, concentrated but not heavy fruit, tannins present but integrated. It is a wine for the table — versatile, honest, with the personality that only vineyards with decades of history can provide.

Combro Tinto Colheita Especial Douro DOC

Combro Colheita Especial is the top of the line of red wines from Quinta do Combro. With an intense aroma of red and black fruits balanced with notes of spices, tobacco and leather, it is a wine that demands — and deserves — attention. The Colheita Especial represents the selection of the best batches of the year, with a longer aging process that deepens the complexity and adds structure for longer aging. For those who want to keep it, or for a special occasion that justifies it.


Why Old Vines?

In the Douro Valley, old vines are a treasure. With decades—sometimes more than a century—of history, their roots descend deep into the schist in search of water and minerals. They naturally produce fewer grapes, but with a concentration and complexity that young vines simply cannot replicate. The irregularity of the field blend, far from being a defect, is a richness: each plot tells its own story, and the wine is the sum of them all.

At Quinta do Combro, this philosophy is not a marketing choice — it's a conviction.
And the wines reflect that.

One farm, one story.

JM Calem is one of the oldest houses linked to the Douro Valley and Port wine. Quinta do Combro represents its expression in still wine — without the sweetness of Port, without the shadow of major international brands, just the Douro in its most direct and honest form.

For those who want to experience the Douro Valley beyond the obvious, Quinta do Combro is a must-see destination.

Discover the entire Quinta do Combro range at [wine-time.biz](https://www.wine-time.biz) — with shipping throughout Europe, the Americas, and Asia.

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