Built in 1901, the winery still maintains all the traditions and crafting methods of that time.
History
Thomas Reynolds emigrated to Porto in 1824 and founded Thomas Reynolds & Son, dedicated to the export of Port wine, olive oil, wool, honey and cork to England. Around 1832 he moved to Alentejo, attracted by the cork business.
Herdade do Mouchão was one of dozens of estates where the Reynolds family produced cork, and it is likely that there were already vines on the estate by that time.
In 1850, Robert Hunter Reynolds (son of Thomas) assumed the management of the business, and in the early 1880’s his nephew William Reynolds played a crucial role in the fight against phylloxera as President of the National Commission against Phylloxera.
In the early 1890s, John Reynolds (son of Robert) built the family house and agricultural buildings at Mouchão. He and his brother, Rafael, married two sisters, Isabel and Cristina Andrade Bastos. In 1901, the “new” Mouchão winery was built.
Wines were sold in bulk until 1949 when Albert “Bouncer” Reynolds (son of Rafael) bottled the first wine at Mouchão.
The 1954 harvest marked the debut of the “Mouchão” label and was also the first to receive recognition in the capital.
With the Revolution of 1974, the estate was expropriated, only returning to the hands of the Reynolds in 1986, already in an advanced state of abandonment.
Extensive restoration and regeneration was carried out by Bouncers’ daughter and son-in-law – Babette and Iain Richardson – and by his grandson, Iain Reynolds Richardson, the 6th generation of the Reynolds family in the Alentejo.
Today, all the products that Thomas Reynolds initially traded, continue to be produced at Mouchão and the estate is flourishing.