CWG Tasting - Native White Portuguese Varieties

A CWG tasting led by Rianie Strydom.Rianie explained that we will taste wines from Douro, Bairrada, Moncao & Melgaco, Alentejo and Dao whilst finishing on Dao/Bairrada.

Rabigato, Encruzado, Gouveio, Viosinho.
Códega, Códega de Larinho, Donzelinho Branco, Folgazão and Arinto

• 2021 Wine & Soul Douro Guru 89 Points

  Portugal, Douro

  Blend of 25 Viosinho; 25 Rabigato; 25 Codega do Larinho; 25 Gouveio. Planted on schist that changes to granite soils, Vine age: 62 yr old. Ferm 15 days in New French oak. 7 months maturation prior to bottling.
  The aromas are lifted by white pepper, river stones, tarragon, and Bartlett pear, especially the pear's core and ripe apples.
  Vibrant acidity on a juicy entry, the wine has a crunchy pear-skin texture and pleasant notes of apple core toward lightly bruised apple, gentle oatmeal, lightly toasted bread, and a citrus twist, from grapefruit to lime. Medium-bodied, the wine is fruity, detailed, and approachable, with decent acidity that rises to a slightly short finish.
  A fun wine that is drinking nicely.
  Winemaker: Sandra Tavares & Jorge Serôdio Borges
  Full name: Guru
  Vintage: 2020
  Total Produced: 4300 bottles
  Origin: Douro - North Facing
  Soil type: Schist
  Climate: Big Atlantic influence, barrier from the Marão mountain
  Varieties: Field blend (50% Viosinho, 25% Rabigato, 25% Gouveio)
  Age of Vines: 7 years
  Vinification: Fermentation for 10 days in new French oak barrels. Total maturation 7 months before bottling.
  Product Description: Full-bodied with balanced acidity, mineral and salty notes, fresh and long finish.
  Technical Data: Alc 13.5 vol%, RS 0.6 g/l, Total Acidity 5.7 g/l, pH 3.24, V.A. 0.3 g/l

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• 2021 Herdade do Rocim Douro Bela Luz Branco 91 Points

  Portugal, Douro

  Field blend of old vines (85-100yrs) on schist soils made in 140 L clay pots and old 500 L French oak barrels. Matured 12 months. Light bronze-yellow, the aromas start with toffee, yoghurt, and a slight note of oxidation. Nutty, wet concrete with mineral and walnut shells, the wine has a Meursault-like quality.
  A full-bodied white wine that relies on power over freshness. Clipped acidity penetrates throughout the wine towards a surprisingly long finish. The flavours are varied and entertaining, with a wet concrete start, then moss, wet stones, ripe Willaims pear, lanolin, white pepper, sage leaves, and a strange tree bark quality that unfolds to a path made up of crushed walnut shells. In between is a seeming torrefaction (roasted oak) and some cedar. It all seems to deliver a most enjoyable wine with terrific intensity, grippy 'tannin' and a dry finish.
  Origin: Douro - Old Vineyard in Ervadosa, Cima Corgo
  Soil type: Schist
  Climate: Mediterranean
  Varieties: Field Blend of old vines
  Age of Vines: 85-100 Years
  Vinification: Fermentation in 500L old French Oak Barrels and 140L Clay Pots. Matured for 12 months before bottling.
  Technical Data:
  - Alc: 12.5 vol%
  - RS: 0.36 g/l
  - Total Acidity: 6.2 g/l
  - pH: 3.07
  - V.A.: 0.36 g/l

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• 2019 Conceito Douro Único Branco 93 Points

  Portugal, Douro

  Old 85-year-old vines picked as a field blend, including Rabigato, Codega de Larinho, Folgazao, Gouveio, Donzelinho branco, and Arinto. Only made in the top years. Pale straw in colour, the wine has light aromas of a candy store, crayon, stone and mineral, and some orchard fruits. The acid entry is piercing and penetrative, far more than Burgundy and more Jura-like. There are plenty of green apples, lanolin, mandarin, citrus, a dry cedar note, and a leesy texture. The acid is interesting, as it elevates the flavours and gives the wine some mineral edges, yet it also works so well with the leesy structure and this cedar, old-oak feel. A spanking wine!
  Winemaker: Carla Fonseca
  Vintage: 2019
  Total Produced: 3000 bottles
  Origin: Douro DOC
  Soil type: Granite soils, made from a special plot of a very old vineyard
  Climate: Hot, dry
  Varieties: Rabigato, Códega do Larinho, Códega, Gouveio, Donzelinho, Arinto, and more
  Age of Vines: 70+ years
  Vinification: The grapes are hand-picked into small boxes, destemmed, fermentation with natural yeasts in French oak barrels. Matured for 11 months, bottled in July 2020.
  Product Description: It is a very subtle white, with aromas of citrus fruits, white flowers, well notes and great acidity.
  Technical Data: Alc 13.5 vol%, RS 1 g/l, Total Acidity 6.2 g/l, pH 3.16
  Images of winemaker and vineyards.

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Maria-Gomez - Fernão Pires
Bical
Arinto

• 2021 Filipa Pato Bairrada Dinamica Bical & Arinto 89 Points

  Portugal, Beiras, Bairrada

  The second flight kicked off with two Bairrada's. The blend is 80% Bical and 20% Arinto, grown on limestone-clay mid-slopes, around 15km from the Ocean—plenty of Williams pear, ripe yellow apple, apple puree, and a lingering floral note.
  A broad, mouth-filling wine, this is super accessible, showing good intensity and flavours of pear, apple pulp, yuzu, grapefruit and Asian pear. Excellent, zippy acidity gives this linear-framed wine focus. The notes continue to a saline, tidal pool, white pepper and mandarin orange. There aren't quite the lees to soften the mid-palate, so the wine feels upright and steely and not a wine to age, but one for immediate consumption. With a medium finish, there is a touch of quince and honey on the back palate.
  Winemaker: Filipa Pato
  Vintage: 2021
  Total Produced: 25000 bottles
  Origin: Bairrada
  Soil type: Limestone Clay Mid-Atlantic ocean
  Climate: Mild with western winds 1000mm rainfall, Spring-Autumn
  Varieties: 80% Bical & 20% Arinto
  Age of Vines: 30 years
  Vinification: Hand picked in early morning. Whole bunch pressed, natural decanting. Fermentation in 650L French oak. The wine matures on the fine lees without batonnage.
  Product Description: Light yellow with a mineral bouquet of lime and wet stone. Overall subtle ginger and white pepper with an intense salinity, depth of kumquat, mandarin orange peel and a long finish.
  Technical Data: Alc 11.5 vol%, RS 0.7 g/l, Total Acidity 6.7 g/l, pH 3.1

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• 2017 Niepoort Bairrada VV Vinhas Velhas Quinta de Baixo 92 Points

  Portugal, Beiras, Bairrada

  Made from Maria Gomes (Fernao Pires) and Bical on Calceroues clay in foudres for 20 months - complete MLF.
  Deep golden yellow with bronze flashes.
  Distinct mint humbug, struck match, cordite, then more floral notes with tangerine peel, herbs, fennel seeds, and cayenne pepper. There is a definite lactic element to the wine.
  The entry is rich with wood infusion, flint, citrus and gunpowder.
  Tight with a brisk acidity, the mid-palate is very briny whilst the finish is quite stony and firm yet very long, extended by a horizontal acidity that runs on rails throughout the mouth. Refreshing!
  Winemaker: Dirk Niepoort
  Vintage: 2017
  Total Produced: 6000 bottles
  Origin: Calcareous Clay at lowest
  Soil type: Calcareous Clay
  Climate: The summer for this vintage was hot and dry with little
  Varieties: Maria Gomes (Fernão Pires) and Bical
  Age of Vines: Average 100 years
  Vinification: The grapes are hand picked, whole bunch pressed. Fermentation in 1000L old oak foudre. The wine matures for 20 months.
  Product Description: Fresh, austerity, mineral character. The floral grape variety an impressive freshness offers, mouthfeel, goodlength and elegance.
  Technical Data: Alc 12 vol%, RS 1.1 g/l, Total Acidity 5.1 g/l, pH 3.18

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• 2020 Herdade do Rocim Vinho Verde Quinta de Santiago na Ânfora do Rocim 90 Points

  Portugal, Minho, Vinho Verde

  Pale greeny-lemon colour with aromas of green apple, chilled melon. apple blossom, dry grass and orange peel, all with a damp clay, earthy component. A light, breezy entry with a searing acidity that dominates, highlighting sea salt, crisp apple, unripe nectarine and Asian pear and leads to a tangy citric finish. Fairly austere personality but with a great saline-infused tension.
  Origin: Vinho Verde - Monção and Melgaço Sub-Region
  Soil: Granite predominates, however in the northwest there's the existence of large amounts of sediments (clay and rolled pebbles), as well as the existence of a schist strip in the central part of the region
  Climate: The microclimate is characterized by being a temperate Atlantic climate with continental influence, with cold and rainy winters and a hot and dry summer.
  Varieties: Alvarinho
  Vinification: Fermented without skins in Italian amphora, then aged six months in the same amphora.
  Analysis:
  - Alc: 12.0 vol%
  - RS: 1.4 g/l
  - Total Acidity: 7.4 g/l
  - pH: 3.05
  - V.A.: 0.24 g/l

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• 2021 Herdade do Rocim Alentejo Olho de Mocho Reserva 90 Points

  Portugal, Alentejano, Alentejo

  (Tasted Blind) Pale yellow with lemon, lanolin, Cox's apple, faint pastry notes, a hint of adhesive (chipboard), sage, fynbos honey, and ginger. The palate is light and easy, with a strident acidity that is lemon-edged and spicy and a subtle phenolic character that gives some pithy core. The flavours are more tropical, with ginger and creamed honey on a slice of toast coming through. Good focus and a reasonable mineral-enhanced length.
  Winemaker: Catarina Vieira & Pedro Ribeiro
  Full name: Olho de Mocho
  Vintage: 2021
  Total Produced: 2021
  Origin: Herdade do Rocim, Vidigueira
  Soil type: Sandy loam soils of granitic origin
  Climate: Typically mediterranean, in the Alentejano sub-region
  Varieties: Antão Vaz
  Age of Vines: Old vines
  Vinification: Hand harvested in 12kg boxes in August 2022. Fermentation in talha (clay pots) for 21 days with skin contact. Aged in talha for 3 months.
  Product Description: Golden color, complex aromas of tropical fruit, mineral notes. Fresh, good structure, long finish.
  Technical Data: Alc 12 vol%, RS 0.8 g/l, Total Acidity 4.8 g/l, pH 3.27

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Encruzado

• 2019 Casa de Mouraz Dão Branco 84 Points

  Portugal, Beiras, Dão

  Initial reduction with Oros bottle gives way to fragrant aromas of apple and pear blossom mixed with apple core, spice, musk sweets, light candy and powdered rocks.
  A fresh but muted, restrained entry with a more citrus angle, showing yuzu, lime, and grapefruit, infused with a tidal pool, crushed seashell element, and underlying minerality. A mouth-cleansing, piercing acidity washes horizontally through the wine, culminating in a medium-length saline, dried apple, and wet stone finish. Relatively sharp and linear, it also finished with a touch of earthiness that some detected as geosmin, and I felt it lost its freshness.
  Made from Encruzado, the farm is 100% organic and now biodynamic.
  Winemaker: Antonio Lopes Ribeiro
  Vintage: 2019
  Total Produced: 5000 bottles
  Origin: Dão
  Soil type: Village Mouraz - Granite Soils
  Climate: Located between the mountain ranges
  Varieties: Encruzado
  Age of Vines: 30 years
  Vinification: Natural yeast, controlled temperature in stainless steel. Light fining.
  Product Description: Filthy and pineapple flavours as well as yellow stonefruit. Elegant.
  Technical Data: Alc 13 vol%, RS 1.8 g/l, Total Acidity 6.3 g/l, pH 3.2

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• 2021 Quinta de Saes Encruzado 89 Points

  Portugal, Beiras, Dão

  (Tasted Blind) Pale yellow with greenish reflections. Ripe, bright aromas of Asian pear, baked apple, loquat and lemon, with an underlying minerality. Feels quite lifted. A juicy and intense entry with a searing acidity, but balanced by a more fleshy, almost waxy mid-palate and weight compared to leaner expressions. Linear in shape and focus, the wine has Gala apple and Forelle pear flavours with that mineral edge and a touch of austerity that adds tension.
  Winemaker: Alvaro Castro & Maria Castro
  Vintage: 2020
  Total Produced: Not specified
  Origin: Dão - Central Portugal
  Soil type: Soils are granitic with rocky outcrops
  Climate: The Dão has a temperate continental climate.
  Varieties: Encruzado
  Age of Vines: Average 25 years
  Vinification: Hand harvested. Fermentation in stainless steel.
  Product Description: The fresh and aromatic complexity. Citrus, floral.
  Technical Data: Alc 13 vol%, RS 0.5 g/l, Total Acidity 5.8 g/l, pH 3.25

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• 2020 Quinta dos Roques Encruzado 89 Points

  Portugal, Beiras, Dão

  (Tasted Blind) A pale straw colour with distinctive notes of warm citrus, yuzu and salted lemons, alongside subtle aromas of balsa wood, toast and a resinous quality reminiscent of a white Rioja. At first, it is a little reductive, evoking an "oros bottle" or inner tube character. The palate is ripe upon entry with striking, building acidity that crescendos on the finish. Light-bodied, the wine has a pottery-clay texture, a resinous, spicy edge, and a nutty quality that runs to a creamy underbelly. While intriguing and layered, the odd reduction may challenge some palates.
  100% Encruzado grown on gravel and white soils. A portion is fermented in new French oak - the rest, I assume, in S/Steel. The wine undergoes extended lees contact.
  Winemaker: Luis Lourenço
  Vintage: 2021
  Total Produced: Not specified
  Origin: Abrunhosa do Mato - Encruzado
  Soil type: The soil is granitic and sandy-quartz
  Climate: By Luso massif to the south
  Varieties: Encruzado
  Age of Vines: 10-20 years
  Vinification: Crushing with partial destemming. Slowed by a
  Product Description: Clear citrus color. Intense aroma, very elegant with white fruit notes.
  Technical Data: Alc 13.5 vol%, RS 0.8 g/l, Total Acidity 6 g/l, pH 3.2

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• 2017 Alexandre d'Almeida Buçaco Branco Reservado 92 Points

  Portugal

  (Tasted Blind) Reductive notes show as the inner tube slowly disperses, revealing light, fragrant aromas of dried apple, pear blossoms, soft herbs, and even some peach. The palate has a linear profile with exhilarating acidity and is tightly wound with lemon, peach and Gala apple in the mid-palate, underscored by creamy lees that balance the wine nicely. Warm spices percolate into the relatively long finish as it closes with some chamomile tea. Could develop further.
  A blend of Encruzado, Maria Gomes, and Bical grapes sourced from both Dão (very close to the Bussaco Palace Hotel, located south of Dão) and Bairrada regions. The wine is fermented and aged in large, old oak barrels.

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• 2013 Alexandre d'Almeida Buçaco Branco Reservado 93 Points

  Portugal

  (Tasted Blind) Pale gold. Ripe, intense aromas of Bartlett pear, grilled peach, and candied orange peel combine with savoury undertones, whilst lanolin, unstruck match/matchstick and spicy oak add further interest.
  A lovely entry with a creamy texture thread through the wine, balanced by refreshing acidity. The wine exhibits breadth with a fleshy mid-palate filled with ripe pears, orange, baked Bramley apple (lightly spiced) and honeysuckle, accompanied by a frangipane richness. Some pithy notes gives some frame as it persists to an elongated finish.
  This is a blend of Encruzado, Maria Gomes, and Bical.

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• 2005 Alexandre d'Almeida Buçaco Branco Reservado 91 Points

  Portugal

  (Tasted Blind) Golden hue with slight green reflections with some reductive squash ball notes at first before more struck match and cordite emerge (High SO2 levels?). Ripe pineapple, yuzu, yellow grapefruit, and apple-core materialise along with some nuts and spices. A super-dry entry with a steely minerality and a gum-clenching chalky texture gives terrific tension to the wine (like biting into a rock!). There are tropical and citrus notes that add some fruit, but this is more the textural appeal of the wine as the apple-core notes add a phenolic angle that finishes grippy with a tree bark and pine forest quality. Remarkable for its age, it has aspects of 1999.
  A blend of Encruzado, Maria Gomes, and Bical.

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• 2002 Alexandre d'Almeida Buçaco Branco Reservado 93 Points

  Portugal

  (Tasted Blind) Mid-yellow-golden in colour. Ripe, marinated orange, citrus, and breakfast punch aromas, with kumquat and a touch of honey, are front and centre, with subtle Alpine herbs and nougatine notes weaving through. The palate has decent depth, a silky texture, and fresh vitality, with the acid flowing horizontally through the wine. Apple pip, ripe Bartlett pear, and mango make up the flavours. The acidity maintains freshness throughout and finishes long with spice dusting.

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• 1999 Alexandre d'Almeida Buçaco Branco Reservado 91 Points

  Portugal

  (Tasted Blind) Deep golden yellow with bronze hues. Intense tropical fruit aromas with salted orange, honeysuckle, grapefruit, a smear of fynbos honey, and a touch of quarry dust. The entry is broad apple pip, pear flesh, kumquat, and mango, held in place by a phenolic grip and mineral edges contributing to a chalky texture. Smoked lemons and herbal nuances emerge towards the medium to long finish. It doesn't have the depth of the previous vintages.
  A blend of Encruzado, and Maria Gomes and Bical.

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• 2021 Quinta de Soalheiro Alvarinho Monção e Melgaço 91 Points

  Portugal, Minho, Vinho Verde

  (Short Notes with Dinner) Peach and mango aromas with light herbs lead to a creamy lees-infused palate balanced by a fresh acidity and a citrus-leaning finish.
  100% Alvarinho, there is no oak ageing, but it is matured on lees. ABV: 12%, TA: 6.2 g/L; pH: 3.23. Fermented in SS,

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• 2019 António Maçanita Douro Letra F As Olgas Branco 90 Points

  Portugal, Douro

  (Tasted Blind) Pale gold with a slight greenish hue. Opens with dry spices, scrubland herbs, and a faint hint of cordite. An intriguing mix of Asian and Bartlett pear, with a subtle earthiness weaving through the aromatic profile, lends the bouquet a savoury and slightly floral edge.
  A focused, savoury-led palate shows apple core and fresh orchard fruits with an impressive bolt of screaming acidity that electrifies the mid-palate, carrying the wine with precision and energy. Mineral tension bubbles underneath, as does phenolic grip, adding depth. Very tactile with a long finish, driven forward by the sharp acidity, leaves with the impression of apple skin, crushed stones, and sea salt.
  Sourced from a single vineyard in Carlão, Cima Corgo 9at 480m asl). Vine age is 90–110 years, and soils are schist and granite. Some lees ageing is involved.

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• 2019 Conceito Douro Branco 90 Points

  Portugal, Douro

  (Tasted Blind) Pale straw with a touch of green. A faint inner-tube reduction at the first nose leads to ripe Asian pear, fresh chalk, unripe Forelle pear, and green apple, with some minerals. A forthright, focused entry with crisp acidity and crunchy apple skin texture with that greener fruit. Again, it is relatively grippy and tactile, but it feels more austere and less forgiving, giving a linear profile that carries that touch of reduction. The finish lingers with restrained power and precision, closing with pear and crushed stones. Needs more time to settle in the bottle.
  89-91 (potentially more with additional bottle age).

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• 2021 Newton Johnson Albariño 89 Points

  South Africa, Cape South Coast, Walker Bay, Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley

  (Tasted Blind) Pale straw with hints of green at the edges. Clean, bright aromas of fresh apple and light pear dominate, with subtle hints of spice and a faint minerality. The palate is defined by strident acidity that gives the wine a steely, linear quality, driving it horizontally across the palate. Textural elements of pear skin and softer, ripe pear add subtle richness, but the wine maintains a firm, acidic backbone. Delineated and taut, the wine finishes long with citrus zest, apricot kernel and mineral, leaving a mouthwatering impression.
  South Africa's first Albariño vineyard was planted in 2011 and 2012 on granite soils, fermented in concrete with lees ageing in neutral oak and S/Steel.

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