Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / Portugal / Sabrosa / Quinta da Marka
Quinta da Marka
Sabrosa, Portugal · Independent · Accessible Luxury
The wine is called MARKA because the letters spell Marjorie Kathleen Durham Agrellos, who bought this hillside with her husband in 1991 and pushed the project until it worked. The label's logo grew out of a treble clef, because the family are musicians. They rebuilt the house and the winery in 2002 and the first bottle out the door was that year's Reserva red. Six rooms and a suite look over four hectares of old vines on grade A schist, with Ferrao station five minutes down the hill.
- 7 rooms
- Rooms from 194 sq ft (18 m²)
About Quinta da Marka
- The Agrellos family has been in the Douro since the mid-eighteenth century, exporting Port under the Casa Agrellos name, and bottles of their 1870 Port still surface.
- The older family seat, Quinta Casa da Capela at Sao Mamede de Ribatua, is still theirs, and the wine company is now a partnership between Jose Carlos Agrellos and his three sons.
- Every soil on the estate is classified A, the top grade inside the demarcated region, with about four hectares kept as traditional old vines of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca and Tinto Cao.
- The house sits between two of the valley's best-known estates, Quinta do Crasto and Quinta Nova, with its own stop on the Douro railway line a few minutes away on foot.
- Entry-level rooms start at 194 sq ft (18 m²).
History
The Agrellos family arrived in the Douro in the middle of the eighteenth century, when Carlos Lopes Agrellos settled in the valley; he died in 1798. For generations the family produced and exported Port under the Casa Agrellos name, and bottles of their 1870 Port can still be found. Their home, Quinta Casa da Capela, remains at Sao Mamede de Ribatua.
In 1991 Jose Carlos de Sousa Pinto Agrellos, a great-grandson of Carlos Lopes Agrellos, bought this property in the parish of Covas do Douro with his wife, Marjorie Kathleen Durham Agrellos. In 2002 they rebuilt the existing house and winery into a modern complex capable of making high-quality table wine, and launched the estate's label with the MARKA Reserva Tinto 2002 alongside a 2003 Colheita. The name honours Marjorie Kathleen, whose drive carried the project; the company logo derives from a treble clef, reflecting the family's love of music.
The business is now Durham-Agrellos (Vinhos) Lda., a partnership between Jose Carlos and his three sons, making Douro whites and reds including selected harvests, reserves and old-vine bottlings. Vines run south-facing on terraces and are organised by variety, with roughly four hectares of traditional old vines and soils all classified A. The house, recently renovated, takes guests in six rooms and one suite, most looking over the river and the vineyard, with a pool, a chapel, a library, a sun terrace and a small restaurant.
The setting
Quinta da Marka sits on the right bank of the Douro at the Lugar do Ferrao, in the parish of Covas do Douro in the municipality of Sabrosa, halfway between Peso da Regua and Pinhao. Ferrao has its own halt on the Douro railway line, about five minutes downhill on foot, and the drive in is a series of hairpins through the terraces. The immediate neighbours are two of the valley's most visited estates, Quinta do Crasto and Quinta Nova, and the whole landscape belongs to the UNESCO-listed Alto Douro Vinhateiro.
Experiences
- Wine tasting — Wine tasting (degustação de vinhos) praised in guest testimonials.
- Saltwater pool — Saltwater pool that guests praise in testimonials.
Amenities
- Free Wi-Fi
- River Douro view
- Outdoor pool
- Continental breakfast
- Airport transfer
- Picnic and hiking area
- Free private parking
- Children's activities
Open Quinta da Marka in the atlas for live weekend rates, photos, and the full folio.
More hotels in Sabrosa
- Quinta do Crasto Guest House (Casa de Crasto) — Independent · Accessible Luxury
- The Manor House Celeirós (Quinta do Portal) — Independent · Accessible Luxury
- Quinta Nova Winery House - Relais & Châteaux — Independent · Core Luxury