20 Portuguese whites

Portugal is known largely as a red wine country, but it also makes some really nice white wines. Here I tasted a selection of 20, drawn from across the country.  

Arca Nova Vinho Verde 2006
10.5% alcohol. Sweet forward melony fruit on the nose. The palate is quite soft and full with a herby, acidic finish. Odd stuff. 78/100

Quinta de Azevedo Vinho Verde 2006
11.5% alcohol. Fresh, pure minerally nose is very refreshying. Focused, zippy, fresh clean mineralic palate. Lovely focus to this transparent wine. 88/100

Casa do Capitão-Mor Alvarinho Vinho Verde 2006
13.5% alcohol. Quite distinctive nose that’s smoky and mineral, with some herbs and fruit. The palate is quite full with a rich texture and nutty, melony fruit with a nice minerally finish. Almost Chablis-like in style. 89/100

Quinta do Ameal Loureiro Ponte de Lima 2006 Minho
11.5% alcohol. Very full expressive fruity nose with distinctive minerality. It’s complex and a bit herby with some citrussy notes. The palate has broad fruit and a nice texture with good complexity: a really stylish white wine. 91/100

Quinta do Ameal Escolha 2005 Minho
12% alcohol. 100% Loureiro. Lovely expressive, rich nutty nose shows some oak but also broad melony fruit and some minerality. The palate is quite broad, nutty and smoothly textured . Very stylish and evolving nicely. 90/100

Covela Escolha 2006 Minho
13.5% alcohol. Broad, appealing nose of ripe melony fruit. The palate is soft and richly textured with lovely dense ripe fruit. Lovely density of fruit here. 91/100

Covela Colheita Seleccionada 2004 Minho
13.5% alcohol. Deep yellow coloured. Pungent, herb-tinged nose with complex pear skin and citrus peel notes. The palate is dense and ripe with intense herb and melon flavours. A bit of a savoury edge to it – a striking style of wine. 90/100

Quinta dos Roques Encruzado 2006 Dão
Interesting waxy, lemony, herby nose is quite full and savoury. The palate is fresh with nice lemony fruit and a waxy, nutty complexity. Persistent flavours here, with a herby finish. 91/100

Luis Pato Maria Gomes 2006 Beiras
Really charming floral aromatic nose with some creamy depth. The palate is bright, fresh and fruity with lovely crispness and a pretty lemony, floral character. Delicate and delicious. 92/100

Luis Pato Vinha Formal 2000 Beiras
Really intense aromatic nose is evolved but nice with full melony, herbal fruit and toasty richness. The palate is fresh and tight with nice herbiness. The flavour is really starting to emerge. Remarkable. 90/100

Filipa Pato FP Arinto Ensaios 2006 Beiras
Savoury, waxy, herby nose is quite tight. The palate is savoury and minerally with a smoky reductive edge to it and good acidity. Fresh, with a lovely mineral character. 89/100

Casa de Mouraz Branco 2005 Dão
Organic, certified by Ecocert. Fantastic reductive, minerally, burnt match nose combined with some barrel richness. Long, broad and full. The palate is minerally and fresh with lovely depth of flavour. A very distinctive Burgundian style. 92/100 (£8.99 Duncan Murray, Philglass & Swiggot, Corks of Cotham)

Chocopalha Reserva Branco 2006 Estremadura
Quite sophisticated nose showing lemon/citrus fruit. The palate is fresh, bright and focused with lemony freshness and also a bit of depth. Real presence here. 90/100

Casal Figueira Branco Tradition 2005 Estremadura
Very interesting warm, waxy, herby nose has some nuttiness. The palate is broad and nutty with lovely focus and breadth. Nicely fruity, but quite complex with it. 91/100

CARM Branco Reserva 2005 Douro
There’s a lifted, fresh sort of edge to the nose here. Lemony and bright but with toasty depth too. The palate is fresh and herby with lovely weight. Quite a stylish wine with good focus of fruit, but the oak is a little chunky. 87/100

Lavradores de Feitoria Três Bagos Branco 2006 Douro
Fresh, broad fruity nose with some grassy freshness as well as tropical fruit notes. The palate shows nice broad melony fruit: it’s ripe, pure and full with enough acidity to keep it focused. Great effort. 89/100

Alves de Sousa Reserva Pessoal Branco 2003 Douro
Yellow/orange colour. Interesting melony nose is quite rich. The palate is broad with a sweet melony edge. Evolved, rather fat and slightly oxidized in style, but still quite tasty. 85/100

Quinta da Lagoalva Talhão 1 2006 Ribatejo
Fresh fruity nose with a limey edge. The palate is fresh and almost a bit spritzy with lovely bright fruit. Zippy and fun. 88/100

Cerejeiras Colheita Seleccionada 2006 Estremadura
Really nice aromatic, fresh herby fruit nose. Soft, fruity and fun on the palate. 84/100

Paulo Laureano Branco Reserva 2005 Alentejo
Powerful, nutty, herby nose is very rich, toasty and full. The palate is intense with rich, bold, ripe spicy nutty fruit. Oaky and rich, but quite nice. 88/100

Wines tasted 02/08  
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