Richard Mayson, Simon Field MW, and Andrew Jefford review a selection of vintages from some of the best white wine producers in Dão.
Dão white wines: The distinctive styles of Encruzado & Co
Caminhos Cruzados Reserva Encruzado 2022 (13% ABV) |92
SF | Soft straw color, just a hint of oyster shell. An orchard-fruit aromatic, with clear evidence of oak; vanillin and poached pear. A pleasing interface of spice and saltiness on the palate, with plenty of extract and a powerful finish. Energy aplenty and a flinty tension; still very youthful but poised; impressive length and a real sense of place. | 94
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AJ | A bright pale-gold in color, with lime glints. Quiet and undemonstrative aromatically, but what is there is elegant, softly honeyed, with some skilled lees use and fresh orchard fruits behind. On the palate, the wine is zesty, vivid, very driving, firmly textured with some discreet tannins and ample mid-palate wealth, which comes from the fruit but contrives not to be overly “fruity.” Chunky, firm, fresh, aromatic, gastronomic: a success. 2024–31. | 91
RM | Pale-lemon, with an attractive savory-toasty aroma of barrel-fermented fruit; soft, with buttery weight and richness offset by a streak of butter-citrusy acidity and a calm, integrated finish. 2024–28. | 91
Soito Grande Reserva Branco 2016
(14% ABV) |92
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SF | Bright gold, lustrous; the aromatic is dominated by nuts, figs, and crystallized lemon; savory notes in the ascendancy. This theme reverberates down the palate; the concentration of the fruit, albeit displaying secondary characteristics, is sufficiently powerful to ensure that the ensemble is structurally coherent; the soft, sweet notes of fig and white chocolate can only serve as a bonus. | 92
AJ | A rich gold now, with some green glints. Mellow and poised, but the fruits are still singing here, and they are very pure, too: honey, nectarine, pineapple. An attractive, sweet, oak sheen adds to the appeal, bringing vanilla and lanolin. Intense, vivid, and driving. Acids carry the concentration, which is almost a little stressful: an arrowhead in flight. You wouldn’t doze through this, that’s for sure—and it still has much to offer. 2024–27. | 90
RM | Mid-deep in hue, still with a green tinge; rich, heady, integrated beurre blanc fruit, with a whiff of woodsmoke on the nose; similarly rich, buttery flavors on the palate, ripe, with good integration and lemon-butter freshness and new-oak flavors showing up on the finish. Impressive. 2024–30. | 93
Domínio do Açor Encruzado 2021
(13.5% ABV) |91
SF | A sophisticated, near-Burgundian aromatic; leesy, oatmeal, pears, and honeysuckle. A junior St-Aubin or similar? As before, the inference parts company with the structural exigency of the palate, which plays on a firmer, more authoritative acidity and a slightly leaner fruit character. Impressive length, however, and nicely crafted. | 90
AJ | A full gold here, though clear and bright. Clearly some wood used here, and a rather malty scent, so it almost evokes whisky. Acid-apple freshness brings you back to wine. Mellow and full, almost soft, most unusually for Dão. The rich oaking accounts for the style note of the wine, and I have to say I quite like it, though almost feel guilty for doing so (the white Rioja syndrome). Point is, there is plenty of vibrant fruit to back up the oak treatment, and it’s something of a relief to come across a wine in which acidity is not the dominant feature. I’d enjoy drinking this, though I couldn’t really argue it’s subtle. 2024–27. | 89
RM | Mid-golden hue with nicely integrated, rich, buttery oak on the nose and a soft, creamy Burgundian character on the palate, the creamy richness offset by a streak of lemony acidity and a lovely, long, integrated, savory finish. Lovely now but it should also keep and develop. 2024–28. | 93
Osvaldo Amado Raríssimo Dão 2014 (13.5% ABV) |91
SF | Very light color, with the nose marked by lime blossom, verbena, and hints of aniseed. Rather interesting. The Riesling-like character is replicated on the palate—the acidity, naturally enough, pronounced, but not overwhelming, the freshness and herbal complexity of the ensemble both reassuring and uplifting. A fascinating wine ten years down the track.| 94
AJ | Very pale for a ten-year-old, and still with green glints. Creamy and sweet-hued, with soft fruits plumped up by vanilla. Very lovely, but I can’t help wondering why this wine hasn’t accomplished more of an aromatic evolution … screwcap? Surely not in Portugal. Anyway, well-drafted and with lots left to give. Taut and tight on the palate, too, and obviously bottled in a highly reductive way. Holding very well—but at this stage I enjoy the mellower, more evolved wines a little more. Will this wine eventually shift? 2024–30. | 89
RM | Still youthful looking with a green tinge and with a lifted, green, leafy character on the nose and a hint of banana ripeness, still seemingly taut both on the nose and on the palate, with good, gentle apple and toast flavors that haven’t quite integrated on the finish. Undeniably fresh on the finish for its age, but the integration just isn’t there for me to score it more highly. 2024–30. | 90
Osvaldo Amado Raríssimo Dão NV (13.5% ABV) |91
SF | Pale and somewhat austere of inclination, it seems. The nose is dominated by salty verbena and essence of lime; invigorating, certainly. Hints of mint, thyme, and lemongrass add further complexity. An intriguing wine, for sure, deft of construction and harmonious of intent. It will be intriguing to learn what the base vintage is in this instance.| 92
AJ | Bright mid-gold. Fresh and lively, with some oak-sweetness; still relatively youthful and inarticulate, but attractive. Very firm on the palate, and one of the few wines where I wonder if it isn’t actually overoaked, as there is a slight clash with the plunging acidity and somehow not much is emerging in the middle. But let’s give it time and see how things turn out… the raw materials are good here. 2024–30. | 88
RM | A mystery Non-Vintage, with a lovely, mid-deep straw hue and a fine, almost Burgundian aroma of toasted oak and lemon-butter, with a touch of spring blossom; there is obviously some age here, with some lovely, fresh yet creamy texture and depth, fairly well-integrated savory oak, and a long, soft, suave finish retaining a long streak of citrusy freshness. 2024–28. | 93
Paços dos Cunhas Vinho do Contador Grande Júri Dão Nobre 2015 (13.5% ABV) |91
SF | Gentle color, with the nose uncompromising in the face of seniority; a leafy, nutty character underscores the fruit but there is no sign of oxidation. Somewhat angular, however, and lacking the basic tenets of the pleasure principle. Such is the destiny of this particular varietal, it seems. | 88
AJ | Lush gold. Rather mushroomy and beginning to dry a little, but still very attractive thanks to its honeyed richness. There is fresh lime fruit behind to keep the wine vital, too. Another successfully oaked white that is giving generously in maturity. All of this only amplifies in the glass: ten minutes later, and it’s as enticing as ever. On the palate, this is broad, open, mellow, nutty now as well as intensely fruity, with dried apricot and mango macerated in lemon juice; just a little honeyed teasing from out in the wings. Admirable and commanding mature wine. 2024–29. | 92
RM | Mid-deep golden hue, with a rather lovely, heady, mellifluous, floral character on the nose, then lovely, rich, almost fat, toast-and-butter flavors, just about offset by a streak of acidity on the finish. Impressive for its age, richness, and integration. 2024–28. | 94
Quinta dos Carvalhais Branco Especial Edição No.7 NV
(14% ABV) |90
SF | Pale color, but with an assertive nose, built on oak and touched by cedary influence, which somewhat obscures the fruit, intriguingly. There is also a syrupy character, which is hard to define, underscoring the ensemble, but the overall message is positive and deftly harnessed. | 91
AJ | Pale- to medium-gold. Mellow and warm, creamy and beguiling, this is a very successful aromatic profile, with subtle honey and almond infusing clean, fresh orchard fruits. Intense, concentrated, and dramatic, this seems to me to be an ambitious wine just at the beginning of its life trajectory. A huge amount sewn up inside here, and the wine is very taut, tight, and tense at this stage: give it time and you’ll be rewarded, and the score will lift. Even so, I have to score up on the basis of its potential. Super work, and all to come. 2024–35. | 91
RM | Mid-deep golden hue, another mystery NV wine, with obvious age and development on the nose, subdued and integrated, ripe aromas and flavors, with a hint of tropical (banana) sweetness leading to a rich, almost fat, slightly extractive finish. 2024–27. | 89
Fonte do Ouro Nobre 2019 (13.5% ABV) |90
SF | Bright but discreet; soft gold with a watery rim. The nose is evolved and a little leafy; pine nuts and cashew behind that, and hints of fig and dried apricot. Austerity marks the palate; structurally, the wine is somewhat monolithic, hard, and uncompromising, destined, maybe, never to forsake such Sisyphean endeavors. | 88
AJ | Lots of color differences with these wines—this is lemon-lime, gold-green! A super nose, both sweet and sour and fresh; succulent and sheeny, too, from some clever oak. Semi-tropical fruits, with some mango tang; but something rooty and humus-like as well, almost mushroomy. Grand complexity and admirable ripeness. Complex and full on the palate, too. Another example of how well oak can work with the varieties here: a Lusitanian echo of white Rioja’s classics. Mouthfilling yet vivid, lush, sumptuously fruity, packed with detail and delight. Huge fun yet very true to its place. Despite all the richness, everything ends up clean, fresh, and vibrant, thanks to the masterful acidity—which itself is very beautifully and articulately ripe here. 2024–29. | 94
RM | Lovely color, still youthful, with a green tinge; smoky sulfites on the nose from barrel age, with lovely, taut freshness and some complexity on the palate, gentle pineapple fruit just a bit overmarked by toasted oak on the finish, which hasn’t really integrated. 2024–28. | 87
Carlos Lucas Ribeiro Santo Encruzado Dourado 2020 (13.5% ABV) |90
SF | Green-gold, softer at the rim. A nose of cashew, crystallized lemon, and almond, with soft earth and even truffle behind that. A savory kick, in any event. Pleasing. The palate is broad, nutty, accomplished, the acidity supportive, as ever, but not overwhelming, with an unexpected lick of sweetness on the finish, courtesy the ripeness of the fruit in the first place—a feature that does not always announce itself gregariously with this varietal. A successful example, if measured thus, deftly furled on the finish. | 92
AJ | Pale- to mid-gold. Lively, a touch raw, without a lot of fruit focus or finesse. Not unattractive, for all that. Concentrated and vivid, with better (very secondary) fruit development on the palate than on the nose. Lots of green plum, gooseberry, and mango fruits but in mid-evolution now; plus the ever-vivid, structuring acidity. Slightly coarse on the finish. 2024–27. | 87
RM | Mid-straw in hue, with heady, rich, pineapple and integrated, savory, beurre-blanc aromas, just starting to show age; lovely sub-tropical weight and depth, with good integration on the finish, which shows both richness and balance. Lovely now but possibly not one to keep? 2024–26. | 90
Lusus Branco 2020 (13.5% ABV) |90
SF | Green-gold, viscosity at the rim. A slightly anonymous nose, citric fruit touched by a little development, with an attractive stone-fruit character evidenced. This is successfully captured on the palate, which has assumed a nutty characteristic, too (macadamia and walnut) with a spicy backdrop, too. Complex, therefore, the acidity less prominent than in many examples, the weave more evolved and perhaps more harmonious. | 90
AJ | Bright steel-white, with green-gold glints. Fresh and lemon-juicy; just a touch raw. But pungent, too, with a little lemon-skin oil, which intrigues. A hint of resin. On the palate, too, this has that same raw style (though at 13.5% it is not unripe). It’s nice: attacking, vivacious, concentrated, and driving, with lots of smashed apple and pummeled pomelo. Grass, too, and the whole lot dressed in lemon juice. Sort of “granitic,” finally; of its place. Unusual, confronting, but excellent. 2024–29. | 91
RM | Gentle, integrated, barrel-ferment character and ripe, sub-tropical fruit on the nose; the oak is a touch more obvious on the mid-palate but it finishes well, with crisp fruit to the fore. Good balance overall and holding up well. 2024–28. | 88
Casa de Santar Vinha dos Amores Encruzado 2020 (13.5% ABV) |90
SF | Pale, watery at the rim. A rubbery, challenging aromatic; leafy, evolved, but a little unsure of itself. Confidence is regained on the palate, awash with robust alcoholic support and an apparently seamless transition to the challenges of secondary characteristics. A spicy generosity balustrades the orchard fruit, wassailing from the gallery. A pleasing evolution, with inherent ripeness deftly challenging to the more austere inclinations that one has come to expect from this variety. All in all, an imposing and successful illustration of an Encruzado taking on the rigors of maturity. | 93
AJ | Pale-gold. Dry, refined, a touch of peaty malt, sappy; little overt fruit here, but the other notes intrigue. Edgy and driven, but it lacks a little purity and resonance. Sound, but we have better! 2024–26. | 85
RM | Lovely, delicate, lemon-butter character on the nose and similarly well-integrated lemon, toast-and-butter richness mid-palate, with an impressively long and well-poised, toasty, integrated, slightly extractive finish. 2024–28. | 92
Osvaldo Amado Raríssimo Dão 2011 (13.5% ABV) |89
SF | Straw-yellow, the nose smoky and a little uninspiring. The palate is equally challenged, challenging, oxidized, and yet anchored by uncompromising acidity. Tiring, it would seem. | 86
AJ | Full-gold now. Mellow and voluptuous, but beginning to lose a little drive, concentration, and “volume”; the wine is sinking back on its haunches. But very attractively so: a lovely combination of mushroom, honey, and vanilla. Gorgeous nuttiness, too. Just a super, mature-wine nose: nothing but delight. I’d love to spend a few hours with this. Very lush and mellow, but kept as bright and alert as you like by its arresting and structural acidity, which in this case is also mellow and allusive. A wonderful end result: a kind of carousel of tropical fruit, with the acid-energy of lemon and lime driving the carousel and keeping it spinning. Lovely extractive force, too. Totally commanding and absolutely at its apogee, though I don’t sense any need to hurry. 2024–29. | 93
RM | Mid-deep golden hue; rich, heady, smoky, beurre-blanc character, but now showing its age on the nose and just on the verge of turning oily mid-palate, redeemed by a streak of citrusy acidity that rises on to the finish. Impressive but just starting to wane. 2024–26. | 89
Cabriz Encruzado Reserva 2022 (13% ABV) |89
SF | Exceptionally pale, almost translucent. The nose is assertive, however, with oak to the fore, along with oatmeal, quince, apricot, and even a tropical dimension; banana rather than mango, maybe. Impressive mid-palate definition; a generous, velvety, oak encasement, and a mealy profile, bolstered by an impressive kick of alcohol and a firm finish. Food-friendly, one would have thought, and capable of aging. The acidity provides the main point of difference from a generic village Burgundy, which it otherwise resembles. This is interesting in itself. | 89
AJ | Steel-green-gold; evidently a reductive style after two oxidative styles… so, this is a region that embraces different aesthetics. Leafy and resinous scents; church candle wax, too. Not forceful, but a presence in the glass. This is a light- to medium-bodied, acid-driven wine in clean style, with a waxy, resinous cast to it. Good width in the mouth, and the acidity, too, is not excessively dominant. There are some retronasal aromas, and those who seek “minerality” might find it here, though it doesn’t seem saline. A little more honey would be nice (the finish is faintly bitter), but this is competent and well-made. 2024–28. | 87
RM | Pale, with a green tinge; lovely, fresh, green-apple and toast character on the nose and palate, with a good, creamy texture lingering on to a crisp, slightly extractive finish. 2024–28. | 90
Pedra Cancela Reserva Branco 2021 (12% ABV) |89
SF | Pale-green with a ghostly rim, then a nose that recalls harvest suppers and a meander in the kitchen garden, all topped off by the treat of an apple charlotte for tea. Such simple evocations skirt the passages of the palate, with pleasing, spicy rejoinders underscoring the composer’s intent. | 90
AJ | Bright steel-gold. A relatively neutral aroma, though not unattractive, Clean, with a vague sense of fruit and lees. Fresh, lively, clean, and lemony on the palate. Super drinking, though you aren’t going to swap allusions for hours about this wine. Very well-made, enjoyable, and satisfying. 2024–27. | 88
RM | Attractive, delicate, fruit-driven aromas, with a hint of creamy oak on the nose; similarly zesty fruit on the palate, pineapple, a touch extractive, with well-judged oak and a fresh, vaguely toasty finish. 2024–28. | 88
J Carbal Almeida Líquen Encruzado 2021 (12.5% ABV) |89
SF | Pale, aromatically neutral, orchard fruit evidenced, and a modest recollection of crushed almond and cashew; all discreet, marked by a purity and a clean, refreshing undercurrent of acidity, which disguises age (not that old, of course) and underscores freshness. Competent of execution, but lacking a little excitement, perhaps. | 88
AJ | Bright steel-white, with a green sheen. Grape and pineapple: developed fruits here, but very fresh and alluring. Tangerine as well. Taut, dry, and incisive, without quite the allusive force of the aromas. The palate has life and vitality, though, and is not devoid of aromatic interest. Excellent, successful, and typical. 2024–29. | 90
RM | Pale; fresh and zesty on the nose, with attractive, soft pineapple fruit on the palate and a lovely, creamy texture mid-palate and fresh, stony fruit on the finish. Nicely balanced without undue recourse to oak. 2024–28. | 89
Adega Cooperativa de Silgueiros Dom Daganel Grande Reserva 2021
(14% ABV) |89
SF | Soft green-gold, with a distinctive poached pear (Roussanne?) aromatic and a rich, generous palate profile, high in extract, alcohol, and acidity, the trinity conspiring successfully to fashion a wine of distinction and style, albeit from the more indulgent end of the spectrum. | 92
AJ | Steel-white, with bright glints. Fresh, lemony, angelica, a hint of tamarind: another subtle and singular aromatic. Attractive and enticing. This is a little bit too dry, lacking the arresting core of chunky, fresh fruit that qualifies the best. I’m not sure why so. A little flat and lacks resonance… Perhaps in the end the issue here is that it doesn’t have the architectural acidity of the others. Might this be connected to its 14%? It’s not warm or “alcoholic,” for all that. 2024–27. | 85
RM | Pale-straw in color, with a gently integrated savory character on the nose and a similarly rather lovely, taut, creamy-buttery fruit mid-palate; nothing overt here, leading to a long, linear, zesty-stony finish. Lovely balance and integration. 2024–30. | 91
Carlos Lucas Ribeiro Santo Vinha da Neve 2019 (13.5% ABV) |89
SF | Mid-straw of medium pigmentation; the nose reticent five years down the line. The acidity jolts one into attention on tasting, leaving anxiety as to whether its magisterial command will ever be relinquished in favour of a more balanced and harmonious portrait. | 90
AJ | Bright gold. Soft and attractive, sweet and warm, but without the detail and intrigue of the best. Fresh and stony, for all that. Still quite firm, taut, and tight, with almost-aggressive acidity. One might hope for a bit of softness by this stage. On the plus side, this is a seriously concentrated wine, and authentically Dão in its expression: sound and sustained delivery. 2024–28. | 87
RM | Turning golden in color; rather demure on the nose, with a vestige of lemon-butter freshness; ripe and well-developed on the palate, with a well-integrated, toasty-savory character, then pineapple and lemony freshness on an extractive finish. Lovely now but not for long keeping. 2024–26. | 89
Quinta do Perdigão Encruzado 2022 (13% ABV) |89
SF | Pale-straw, with a distinct aroma of bitter lemon (Robinson’s barley water recalls Wimbledon, even on a dull Autumn morning). The palate is a little stretched, quite phenolic, leafy almost, this of course chiming perfectly with the ambient tasting environment. | 86
AJ | Pale gold. Honeyed and lemony, with a resinous touch. Attractive southern forests evoked here. Attacking acidity, but it is richer and more fruit-laden than for many of its peers; indeed, there is even a sense of juiciness. Yet Encruzado and these soils also give you a legacy of seriousness, so this is not a slight or trivial wine, despite its poise and inner juicy vim. Excellent work. 2024–30. | 91
RM | Pale lemon-yellow, with a delicate toast-and-butter character on the nose and a hint of blossomy fruit; similarly attractive, integrated, citrusy fruit and a fine savory streak leaving a fresh, delicate, dry, lemon-meringue finish. 2024–28. | 89
Pereira de Melo Primado Branco 2021 (13.5% ABV) |89
SF | Pale-green-gold, bright and lively; a nose that recalls Riesling, for a change; kerosene and linseed oil. On the palate, there is verbena, pickled lemon, and a hint of something savory; salty charcuterie and hints of lemongrass. Stony but textured; layers of interest, which seem to grow in the glass, all, as usual preserved by the safety net of a granitic acidity. | 93
AJ | Bright-gold and ultra-limpid, after a couple of hazy wines. Clean, fresh, lemony, a touch of resin, some woodland moss: very classical here. A little heaviness descends after some time in the glass. Intense and concentrated on the palate, with bright, lemon and quince fruit and some of the aromas noted when smelling the glass. A firm and serious white with some weight and tenacity. 2024–29. | 88
RM | Pale- to mid-lemon-yellow; fresh citrus-fruit-driven aromas, with a touch of oak and apple blossom; similarly fresh and fruit-driven on the palate, with a touch of savory oak and a light, delicate Cox’s apple finish. 2024–27.| 86
Caves São João Porta dos Cavaleiros Reserva 2017 (13% ABV) |89
SF | Mature and a little stretched, but with vestigial nutty sweetness, which will certainly appeal to those who favor a more evolved style, which does not lack for complexity. | 90
AJ | Medium- to full-gold. Very sweet and aniseed-like now; honeyed and beguiling. You might almost suspect a dessert wine. Some lovely advances with age. Of course the almost Jura-like acidity grounds those sweet-wine fantasies, and in very short order; you’ll find something nutty and fresh on the palate, vital and zesty. The allusive individuation has gone now, but the harmony and seamlessness makes up. I’d drink sooner rather than later. Apples to finish, almost tarte-tatin-style. 2024–28. | 90
RM | Still youthful in hue, with an attractive, fresh, integrated, lemon-butter character on the nose, showing a little more age and development on the palate, but rich, ripe, integrated, creamy, sub-tropical fruit, with lemon-meringue richness on the finish, if starting to show its age. 2024–27. | 87
Taboadella Grande Villae 2021 (13.5% ABV) |89
SF | Gentle straw; a leafy nose, but behind that, acacia and hawthorn; aromatically subtle, having now passed though its primary phase. The oak influence informs the palate, adding a textural dimension but maybe shrouding varietal potential. Poached pear, salted lemon, and apricot; nicely made and held together by firm acidity and impressive concentration. | 87
AJ | Bright green-gold; very steely and pristine and brilliant. Softly attractive, with angelica and vegetal notes. Honeyed, too; even a touch of almond and apricot kernel. Pristine and beautifully composed. Intense, bright, searching, and “flinty,” with a little tannic grip. Acids are dominant, sheer, with notes of lemon and grapefruit and quince—so genuinely interesting and rewarding. This is a pungent and mouthwatering wine, yet it’s also aromatically intriguing and mouthfilling, too, finally: excellent work. Bravo. Real regional style and with ample gastronomic potential. 2024–30. | 92
RM | Pale with a green tinge, retaining lovely, taut, youthful fruit, rather dominated by savory oak on the nose and palate; a little more disjointed on the palate, which is even more marked by oak than is the nose, overlaying some fresh, delicate, green-apple fruit. Still with a youthful spring in its step. 2024–28. | 88
UDACA Tesouro da Sé Private Selection White 2017
(13.5% ABV) |89
SF | Light of color, but with an indulgent, slightly oxidative nose; fig paste and walnuts, leaves and a hint of vegemite. The palate is equally evolved, drying a little on the finish. | 87
AJ | Mid-gold, with ample lemon light. Beginning to be more mushroomy than anything, with the fruits now very subdued. Attractive, but you are definitely now smelling “a mature white.” Some oak, too, and a nougatine richness. As always, the general alertness and vivacity of the acid-structured palate brings the wine back to life, and will keep it alive for a few years yet. Harmonious, mellow, and satisfying, just beginning to be nutty (walnuts), and those mushroomy notes are very attractive: another super glass. 2024–28. | 90
RM | Mid-deep in hue, with rich, ripe, heady, pronounced, toasted-oak aromas, though fairly well-integrated; a similarly rich, tropical character to the fruit, with a lovely, rich texture mid-palate and a savory finish, still showing freshness and verve, if a little overwhelmed by the oak. 2024–27. | 90
Casa Américo 625 mts 2020 (13% ABV) |88
SF | Mid-straw color, quite mute; the nose betrays age and a hint of oxidation, which cascades down the palate, too, with the additional complication of intrusive acidity. Leafy and a little foursquare, lacking real focus. The finish is abrupt, unforgiving. | 87
AJ | Full-lemon-yellow; bright and clear. Bottle 1: Corked. Bottle 2: Complex and refined, without a lot of overt allusions, but the fresh tenor and innate complexity and originality of the wine arrest nonetheless. Harmonious and well-knit on the palate: a seamless blend of lemon, grapefruit, nectarine, and pineapple, but all soft-focus and deliciously so now. Mouthfilling and satisfying, but with the double gift of white Dão in that it is mouthwatering, too. Super wine, actually. Wonderfully gastronomic and I’d love to share a bottle over an evening. 2024–32. | 91
RM | Savory, buttery style of fruit on the nose, with a touch of peach and pineapple; fairly well-integrated on the palate, quite extractive in style though ending well with a fresh, lemon-meringue finish. 2024–27. | 87
Quinta da Bordaleira Serra da Estrela 1.993M 2020 (13% ABV) |88
SF | Lightly colored, the nose challenged by hints of acetic acid; varnish undermining aromatic integrity. Smoky, leafy, and touched by taut, unforgiving acidity. A little harsh, therefore. | 86
AJ | Pale silver-gold. Lots of aromatic fruit, in that early orchard-fruit style that almost recalls Riesling: apple, grape, tangerine. Pure and attractive. That’s what you find on the palate, too, though the fruits here are a little less pristine and lifted than for the best of its peers. Well-made and vividly fruited white Dão, for all that, with lovely concentration. 2024–29. | 89
RM | Still pale and fresh in color, with gentle, well-integrated, subtropical-savory aromas and creamy ripeness on the palate, with lovely, soft, savory integration on the finish, now starting to show some complexity from age. Should continue to develop well in bottle. 2024–28. | 89
J Carbal Almeida Musgo Encruzado 2022 (12.5% ABV) |88
SF | Pale-straw; aromatically neutral; hints of earth and bracken, but far from expressive. There is more drama on the palate, courtesy, one infers, the granitic soil, which offers an acidic profile that is more demonstrative than one associated with limestone and clay. There are herbs, too, with hints of bruised apple and macadamia, then salinity on the back. Quite impressive detail in other words, especially after the far-from-inspiring aromatic profile. | 89
AJ | Pale, bright, silver-gold. A wine of discreet aromatic charm—pear and apricot kernels. Just. If you look. Well-made and fresh in the mouth, and the closest we have come thus far in the tasting (this is our seventh wine) to charm. There are soft fruits, a discreet sense of stone, well-judged appley freshness, overall balance, and shapeliness. A fine Dão white that I would enjoy drinking. 2024–30. | 90
RM | Pale, with a green tinge; grass and nettle, cold-fermentation aromas, with a contrasting soft, savory character mid-palate and a lemon-zest finish. 2024–26. | 86
Fonte do Ouro Reserva Especial Encruzado 2021 (13% ABV) |88
SF | Green-gold, with an ambitious nose that successfully marries secondary fruit characteristics and an oak upbringing. Honeysuckle, verbena, and a billowing, creamy backdrop, the acidity insistent and uncompromising, without actually stretching to undermine the implied aspiration. Upstanding and complex, a good example of an oaked Encruzado entering its secondary phase of evolution. | 92
AJ | Bright green-gold. Sappy and fresh, creamy, with an understated vanilla-sweetness that combines effectively with gooseberry fruits. A little touch of reduction, too, but that almost adds to the interest. Super wine: mouthfilling and ample, allusive, and beautifully crafted, with excellent use of oak and lees. For all that, it’s the fruit that sings out: a wonderful draft of structured vivacity. Few white grapes can do this, it’s true; it’s almost as if it combines the different appeals of Sauvignon Blanc (fresh acidity and “green” allusions) and Chardonnay (width and heft, and secondary complexities). The fruit is beautifully teased to ripeness, too, leaving behind the resins and apples and dry cardboard and moving on into near-tropical uplands, with lemon, lime, pineapple, and mango. And all the while, the granite lurks quietly behind. Bravo. 2024–34. | 93
RM | A rather odd, sulfide character on the nose, with oak underlying; it is much cleaner and fresher on the palate, but the oak is not very well-integrated, leading to a rather disjointed citric finish. 2024–27. | 80
Carlos Lucas Envelope 2019 (13.5% ABV) |88
SF | A deeper color than some, lightly bronzed. The nose of poached pear and salted almonds has an almost Fino-like precision—Vin Jaune, even—a characteristic that is recalled on the palate, too; hazelnuts, quince, and ripe orchard fruit, all underscored by firm acidity and an impressive degree of concentration. Food-friendly, and with plenty of room for further mileage, this wine successfully demonstrates the varietal’s aging potential. | 91
AJ | Full pale-gold. Quite rich, here, with lots of honeycomb and wax. Like a beekeeper’s dream: very original and attractive. Very enticing, too. Intense, driving, evolved fruit, with lots of apple and apricot lavished with the honey and wax on the aromas (though you notice those things less since the acidity is so forceful). A voluble and enjoyable mature wine. 2024–28. | 89
RM | Mid-gold and showing its age on the nose, rich, buttery, but now slightly hollow; similarly rich and savory on the palate, with some extractive character and acidity but falling away on the finish. Just past its best. 2024–25. | 85
Quinta da Ponte Pedrinha Vinhas Velhas 2017 (13.5% ABV) |88
SF | Mid-straw, bright, and with a soft viscosity garlanding the rim. A mature, almost-savory nose, which is marked by a nutty character, but also hints of star anise and thyme; herbal, therefore, and complex. This herbal grip is amplified, fascinatingly, on the palate, and serves to underplay the otherwise rather foreboding acidity, and to lend the fruit profile a pleasing savory edge, which once again underlines both balance and complexity. | 92
AJ | Full-gold. This is a little bit tired and rough-and-ready, with some strange notes, almost hydrocarbons. I will give it time with air to see if it lifts and clears at all. Well… it softens a little, but there are better mature bottles in our tasting. Vivid—but a little oxidized and rasping now. One of the less successful mature wines, though still drinkable. 2024–25. | 84
RM | Turning gold in color, with rather lovely, perfumed, pine-resin aromas, also reflected on the palate, which is quite extractive, a bit wild, though not without some charm and retaining a vestige of lemon zest on the finish. Drink soon. 2024–26. | 89
Domínio do Açor Bical Vinha Celta 2021 (14% ABV) |87
SF | The sole Bical in this tasting, so with quite a weight of responsibility; and a very distinctive wine it is, too; volatility shrouds the nose and a sinewy rasping acidity overwhelms the palate; too much winemaking, too little by way of protection. All in all, not a great day for Bical, alas. | 83
AJ | Bright, pale-yellow and almost (but not quite) hazy, perhaps? On balance, not; it’s limpid. A distinctive oxidative tang provides the primary aromatic note here. Autumn apples, heading for the cider press. Not my favorite aroma, but some may relish it. Very much as the aroma suggested; and moreover quite a rich palate that seems to have a little residual sugar. Very mouthfilling and in its own way interesting; perhaps I could be won over by this, given time. One legacy of the style is bitter finishing notes, though, which some may not like. For me, they work quite well with that rich and deeply appley mid-palate. Is this individuation to do with the fact that it is a Bical wine? Characterful, anyway, for sure. 2024–27. | 88
RM | Lovely, open yet complex, integrated, savory bread-and-butter character on the nose, which is almost akin to very young Fino Sherry; similarly savory on the palate, yet with a crisp-apple finish. 2024–28. | 89
Adega de Penalva 2022 (13.5% ABV) |87
SF | Exceptionally pale, with a watery rim and evidence of viscosity, supported by the crib which advises 13.5 % ABV. An attractive nose, apricots and plum, a lick of oak (vanillin and mango), and a soft, spicy undertow; white pepper, principally. The palate amplifies the tropical element; guava and ripe pear; nicely concentrated and once again redeemed by a shard of acidity, which not only underwrites structural integrity but also signals a capacity to develop. Just the faintest salinity on the back-palate adds further interest. | 90
AJ | Steel-white-gold. An attractive and well-crafted aroma, with lemon cream and soft, honeyed notes. A touch of typical resin to provide some freshness and lift. Fresh, lively, clean, and pristine in the mouth, and every inch the “granite white” (a style I associate with a bright hardness, sustained acidity, and attacking impact). There is some complexity here and the acidity brings structure as well as strike and edge. A little tannin, too. 2024–28. | 87
RM | Pale, with a green tinge; slightly honeyed, cold-fermented, grapefruit character on the nose and on the palate, with a fresh but slightly extractive bitter finish and a suggestion of new oak. Simple and a bit disjointed. 2024–27. | 84
Carlos Raposo Definido Vinhas Velhas Branco 2021 (12.5% ABV) |87
SF | Bright, if slightly mute of hue (straw rather than gold), the aromatic profile equally discreet. More personality and definition on the palate, however, with salinity and an herbal backdrop providing a resourceful frame for a wine that is poised and concentrated in equal measure, the citric fruit and spicy backdrop interacting pleasingly, and encouraging gastronomic accompaniment. A nicely tapered, focused finish, too. | 93
AJ | Bright steel-gold. Developed and rather overt fruit, but attractive for all of that, with a thyme and lime-flower complexity over that blocky apple. Another nose to draw you in. On the palate, this is in the end a bit coarse and oily, stuck in the engine room, and with some bitter notes on the finish which really spoil and intrude. Sorry. 2024–25. | 84
RM | Demure, with soft, subtropical fruit and a hint of savory-smoky oak on the nose; rather extractive initially on the palate, but leaving a simple, fresh, apple-peel and citrus-fruit finish. 2024–26. | 84
Quinta dos Roques Encruzado White 2022 (13.5% ABV) |87
SF | Pale, with hints of green and evidence of small bubbles. A distinct aromatic of poached pear and almond, almost almond essence; a Roussanne-light, maybe. This comparison is also noted on the palate; hints of cashew and pine nut complement the fruit profile, the nourishing acidity ensuring that there is no inference of oxidation, another characteristic that Encruzado may well share with Roussanne. | 89
AJ | White-gold in color, and almost a pink hue to its glints and facets. Dry, pure, grapy—but as much skin as pulp (almost a marc-like scent). Modestly appealing. Better on the palate, in that the flavor interest is greater than the aromatic interest: full-textured, long, and lingering, with both structure and perfume (autumn apples and quinces). A wine of some intrinsic richness, though as always the acidity is prominent. 2024–26. | 85
RM | Pale straw in hue; strange, honey-and-lemon nose, with more than a hint of cardboard; better on the palate, with some creamy texture and integration followed by a soft but fresh buttery finish. 2024–27. | 87
Textura Pura 2021 (12.5% ABV) |87
SF | Pale, especially so at the rim. The influence of wood touches both nose and palate, neither with much by way of conspicuous success, with notes of sawdust and earthenware overriding any vestigial or even evolving fruit. A little foursquare and phenolic on the finish. | 87
AJ | A delicate white-gold. Fresh, earthy, and leesy more than overtly fruity, with some thyme and resin. Understated but honestly, I like it: very appetizing and subtle, drawing you on and in. The palate shares some of this intrigue, though it is a tentatively oxidative style and that perhaps takes over the relay in the mouth from the subtle aromatics. Full and fresh, clean, lively, and mouthfiling, vivid, with apple acidity bonded to the innate structure and matière that local white grapes give you on these granite soils. A good, dense, chewy white. Sense of stone after. 2024–28. | 88
RM | Open, attractive, lemon-sherbet aromas, with a touch of sub-tropical ripeness, then a touch of savory oak showing up initially on the palate, lending an extractive character to the pineapple fruit, doesn’t quite come together on the finish as a result. 2024–28. | 86
Quinta da Alameda Torreao White 2022 (13% ABV) |86
SF | Pale, with a watery rim; a nose of tobacco, quince, and soapstone. Flinty, with tense acidity and a dry, extracted profile, salt on the back and flowers at the front. Distinctive and quietly compelling. | 91
AJ | Pale-gold rather than lemon. Slightly tired aromas showing some oxidation; little to eulogize. A little murky fruit. Rather bitter, sharp, and dry; not a wine I would enjoy drinking. Tired, too. It is concentrated but lacks purity, allusive wealth, and vivacity (for me). Apologies. 2024–26. | 80
RM | Mid-lemon-yellow, with a gently smoked citrus character on the nose and a hint of resin, seemingly quite well-integrated with honeyed fruit, and a buttery texture yielding to a fresh but extractive finish. 2024–28. | 88
Niepoort Conciso White 2021 (11.5% ABV) |86
SF | Lighter in color and alcohol, with distinct lemony notes, then something leafy; austere and uncompromising, maybe lacking sufficient concentration for longer term evolution. | 87
AJ | Bright steel-gold. Pungent and fresh, with the style of aromatics often called “flinty” (i.e. faint but teasing reduction). Passingly attractive though not compelling or magnetic. Later a little honey and magnolia develop, which add to the attraction. Lots of structuring acidity here, but it is richer in fruit color than for many of the wines—indeed, almost pineapple, and well beyond plain lemon and green apple. Bracing and refreshing, thus… yet the wealth and weight is there on the palate too, and there is probably some subtly integrated oak. All in all, a very successful white Dão, and the low alcohol is a real surprise—it doesn’t taste in any way skinny, slight, or green. 2024–27. | 90
RM | Mid-lemon-yellow hues, with a pronounced honeyed character on the nose; honey and lemon on the palate, with an extractive character running all the way through to the finish, revealing oak. 2024–27. | 82
Julia Kemper Encruzado Reserva Branco 2021 (13.5% ABV) |85
SF | Soft-straw color; a slightly strained nose, matched by a sinewy, raw mouthfeel, not quite coarse per se, but lacking elegance and the trappings of harmonious distinction. A touch oxidized, maybe, its shape thereby compromised and the fruit character, by implication, undermined. | 86
AJ | Classic white-gold in color. Clean and fresh, with a faint resin hint; the fruits aren’t particularly developed. Just a little raw. Ditto on the palate: attacking apple here. Best with food. Chunky and four-square. 2024–26. | 85
RM | Subdued, even non-descript, on the nose, but with gentle, soft, savory, apple and citrus fruit on the palate and some depth mid-palate; nicely integrated, with a fresh, slightly extractive finish. 2024–27. | 85
Niepoort Quinta da Lomba Garrafeira White 2016 (12% ABV) |85
SF | Modest of color, still reticent nearly a decade down the track. The nose is a touch oxidized, stewed, and complicated; and, sure enough, the acidity overwhelms the palate, taking all before (and behind) it. | 86
AJ | Still relatively pale here: pale- to mid-gold. Lovely, sour-fruit appeal on the nose, very well-preserved from its youth: lemon and yogurt cultures, but with richer, vanilla, honeyed almond appeal from behind. A super aromatic profile in this mature wine. When I come back a little later,though, the aromatics have closed in and seem a little cardboardy, to my surprise. Very sharp on the palate, to the extent that the allusive wealth struggles to make itself heard. I note the 12% ABV: perhaps this was just a little too early a pick? 2024–29. | 86
RM | Showing its age on the nose, ripe but rather hollow, a bit woody and lacking freshness, and similarly advanced on the palate, a bit extractive but it finishes quite well. Drink soon. 2024–26. | 84
Taboadella Reserva Encruzado White 2022 (13.5% ABV) |85
SF | Pale-gold with green flecks; a touch of spritz, too, maybe. The nose is neutral, a touch earthy; maybe a little reduced? Crushed almond and grape skin. Lacking aromatic grace . There is more interest on the palate, which juxtaposes bracken, quince, and pickled lemon; salinity evidenced, and a firm, stony finish, all buttressed, as one has come to expect from this variety, by firm acidity. | 88
AJ | Very pale-white-gold, with a spritz. A shy and rather fruitless aromatic profile; cut green apple, perhaps, but also some cardboard. Shapely and clean on the palate, but somehow the flavor still seems a little carboard-like (not TCA). A shame the fruit core isn’t more attractive, since in other respects the wine is shapely and soft-textured, and the acidity balanced. 2024–26. | 83
RM | Pale-lemon-yellow, with a withdrawn but nicely integrated character on the nose, blossom with a touch of toasty oak; citrusy-appley fruit, high in acidity with rather raw oak, not as integrated on the palate as on the nose, and an extractive finish. May integrate with more time? 2024–28. | 85
João Tavares da Pina Torre de Tavares Cerceal Branco / Bical 2021 (11.5% ABV) |85
SF | Suede color, gingerbread; a distinct, oxidative nose; Autunm leaves and a hint of white chocolate. The palate is dry, high in acidity, and touched by bitter, almost pickled, fruit. Distinctive and probably food friendly; an austere and uncompromising style, but certainly not lacking in merit and a capacity to inspire. | 89
AJ | Mid-amber in color, with some opacity. A successful aroma here, with ample billowing autumn fruit and nuttiness. Plenty to enjoy and nothing compromised here—appetizing and exciting within the amber style parameters. Vivid, nutty, lively. A little less concentrated than the best of the tasting, and not quite as fruitily vivid as I was hoping from the nose, but the tannins work well with the appley fruit and gives you a chewy white with some rustic appeal. 2024–27. | 87
RM | Mid-deep, slightly cloudy, golden color; lots of wholemeal but a rather dusty, savory character here on the nose, and the palate, with more than a touch of rancio, falls rather flat on the finish. Is this intentional or prematurely oxidized? 2024–25. | 78
João Tavares da Pina Torre de Tavares Encruzado 2021 (12% ABV) |84
SF | Straw color, a touch miasmic. The nose of baked apple, macadamia, and quince confirms a touch of oxidation; whether or not this is deliberate it is for us to establish. The odd, spritzy palate and very dry, burned grass finish imply that it is not deliberate; or, if so, stylistically somewhat recherché. Structurally the wine fascinates, its stony austerity and acidic impulsion both etched with lapidary confidence. An enigma! | 90
AJ | Opaque and light amber, so clearly a “natural” style here. Murky and a little tired for me, though I am trying to extend it as much sympathy as I can. There seems to me to be some reductive unattractiveness here also, or a sulfur/sulfide note. Heavy and galumphing, with developed acidity but little fruit cling. I like the tannic texture and the palate seems cleaner than the nose suggested it might be, so this isn’t a failure, but it is a little cidery and lacks charm and draw (for me). 2024–26. | 81
RM | Mid-deep, slightly cloudy, golden color; rather flat initially on the nose with an underlying savory-biscuity character; fully developed and rather lacking fruit mid-palate, though retaining a streak of acidity on a rather extractive finish. Not much pleasure to be gained here. 2024–26. | 80
João Tavares da Pina Torre Cercial Branco / Bical 2022 (11% ABV) |83
SF | Straw color and a distinctive nose of honeydew melon, oatmeal, and poached pear; a hint of oxidation may be more charitably described as lemon posset, or meringue; why not. The palate is broad-based, somewhat rustic, with an earthy dimension, hints of peat and Cox apple, and just the slightest spritz. | 85
AJ | A decided gold (either deliberately or not—we’ll see). Clearly an oxygen-influenced style, though for me not chronically oxidized. Not hugely articulate aromatically—some yellow-plum and hazel aromas, though the oxidative style means that these aren’t realized in a primary style. It may in fact be a light orange wine of some sort… There are also some yeasty notes. Bright, attacking acidity dominates the palate, and the oxidative style provides framing and structure. An assertive wine that would be best with food. 2024–26. | 84
RM | Pallid straw-yellow, with an old-fashioned, toasty aroma rather overwhelming any fruit; fresher on the palate, but rather flat and disjointed, leading to a bruised-apple finish. 2024–26. | 80
João Tavares da Pina Torre Encruzado 2022 (12% ABV) |81
SF | Buckwheat color; slightly cloudy. Nose neutral; hints of crushed almond and orchard fruit. Taut acidity on the palate; Braeburn apples and a shard of terse energy. Lacking mid-palate definition and the sense of an ending. | 87
AJ | A full pale-gold, but clearly gold rather than lemon or white. Vaguely nutty, but not very articulate; nothing much to detain or entice. Seems to me like a tired, and inarticulate white with little to offer other than its dominant acidity. 2024–25. | 78
RM | Straw color; rather flat and already slightly oxidized on the oaky nose; a rather extractive style, with apple and pear fruit, but disjointed and overall not an enjoyable drink. 2024–26. | 78 ▉
