On this day, for the first time in Portugal, a wine making company took a leap of faith by submitting a wine to the critics at the same time as it was presented to the public and even before it reached the stores. The stakes were high and the challenge was bold, but we believed, with perfect confidence, that we had a wine of extraordinary quality. That day will be always reminded as the first day of a new Paço dos Cunhas and it’s iconic “Vinha do Contador” wine history.

To milestone the moment, we gave the brand “Vinha do Contador” a new labelling that respects the roots of that place, highlighting the coat of arms of D. Pedro da Cunha’s family. However, for the red wine we had two different labels, ready to be applied on the bottles: “Vinha do Contador” red and “Vinha do Contador Grande Júri” red.

We believed that the wine we were presenting on that day was the best “Vinha do Contador” ever, but we anted to be neutral and put that decision on the hands of an international jury. A group of professionals in the wine making business, impartial and independent, coming from all over the world. That is why we joined Revista dos Vinhos, in their Essência do Vinho, and brought to Paço dos Cunhas part of the team that was in their jury for the tasting of their annual Top 10.

They tasted three old harvests with the best scores yet (2004, 2008, 2009) in order to understand what a Vinha do Contador is. Then, we asked them to taste and rate the new 2011 harvest.