Explore 3 different wine options for this Summer
Maria Izabel 2020 white
I wrote about this wine back in 2017, having tried the 2015 vintage and it is interesting to see how this 2020 is significantly different. This used to be a wine with noticeable oak on the nose, but the producer has clearly moved with the times.
The wine is now made from a blend of Cerceal, Viosinho, Rabigato, Códega do Larinho, Arinto, Folgazão, Verdelho and Alvarinho grapes, partly fermented and aged in used French oak and part in stainless steel.
The unusual blend and careful oak work is carried out under the watchful eye of consultant winemaker Dirk Niepoort.
This is a truly classy Douro white with a complex nose of tropical and citric fruits, full and flavoursome in the mouth, with well-balanced acidity and a steely dry finish. An extremely versatile wine representing good value for money, even at the usual price.
Lacrau Chardonnay
Lacrau Wines of the Douro region, with the scorpion on the label (‘lacrau’ is the name commonly given to scorpions in Portuguese), are widely available.
They make very good value-for-money wines, mostly costing under €10 in shops along with a few premium labels. You can pick up a bottle of the very decent (but nothing special) Sauvignon Blanc for less than €7.
But this Chardonnay, priced exactly the same, is not available in supermarkets or wine shops as the production was fairly small, but it can be found on the wine lists of many restaurants.
Chardonnay, of course, has had a lot of bad rap over recent years, mostly as a result of the artificially oaky plonk served in pubs. This one, however, is a wine to change your mind if you think you don’t like Chardonnay.
The wine is un-oaked, clean and fresh, with lovely floral notes on the nose mingling with white fruit. In the mouth, the wine has the mineral steeliness of a nice Chablis, leading to a long finish.
Given the very reasonable retail price, this wine is also very affordable in restaurants and well worth looking out for.
Herdade Papa Leite C-50 white
I first tried this wine at the excellent Inevitável wine bar/restaurant in Armação de Pêra, a place that can always be relied on when it comes to off-the-radar wines and very tasty food with a touch of creativity and authentic Portuguese flavours.
The Herdade Papa Leite C-50 white comes from a 320-hectare estate in the upper “Alto” close to the town of Alter do Chão.
Here, owner Filipe Barreiros Cardoso has created an agricultural business where cattle farming (he has a herd of 170 Aberdeen Black Angus and 80 of the local Alentejo breed) exists alongside the production of high-quality olive oil and wine.
I am still to try any of the reds from this producer, but this white, made from an unusual blend of Moscatel, Chenin Blanc and Viognier, is very impressive.
On the nose, there are elegant notes of peach and honey, dry in the mouth with a smooth texture from six months of ageing on the fi ne lees in stainless steel.
This is a sophisticated and versatile wine, light and fresh enough to enjoy as an aperitif, but with enough structure to pair with light meals.
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