The estate with winery is located in Herdade das Carvalhas near the provincial capital of Estremoz in the Portuguese region of
Alentejo. Its history dates back to the 17th century, when King João IV. (1604-1656) bought the estate. The name derives from a chapel called "Notre Dame do Carmo". The actual winery was founded by the Bastos family and remained in their possession for several generations. The first fame of the red wine Quintas do Carmo was established by Julio Bastos. In 1992, he sold 50% of the brand and the name to the owners of
Château Lafite-Rothschild. The processing was outsourced to another winery and Julio Bastos was forced to clear parts of the over hundred-year-old,
ungrafted vineyards and plant new, high-yielding young plants. The quality of the wines produced under French supervision now declined steadily from year to year. Finally, Bastos separated completely and founded the Dona Maria winery with his remaining 50 hectares of vineyards.
In 2008, Quinta do Carmo was finally taken over completely by "Bacalhôa - Vinhos de Portugal", one of the largest Portuguese producers. The total estate comprises around 1,000 hectares of land with olive groves, cork oaks and forests. Of these, 350 hectares are planted with
autochthonous and international vines. The red wine "Quinta do Carmo Tinto" is blended from the grape varieties Aragonez
(Tempranillo),
Trincadeira Preta,
Alicante Henri Bouschet,
Cabernet Sauvignon and
Syrah. It is aged for 12 months in 100% new oak barrels. There is also a longer matured
Reserva. The
second wine is called "Dom Martinho". The white wine "Quinta do Carmo Branco" is produced from the grape varieties Roupeiro
(Síria),
Arinto and
Antão Vaz.