When I first tried this Sauvignon Blanc from the Cortes de Cima I was a little disappointed. It was the 2011 vintage, the first Sauvignon Blanc varietal they produced, and although a fair quality wine it did not live up to what I have come to expect from this outstanding Alentejo producer.
In fact, last year when I wrote my series on foreign grape varietals produced in Portugal, it did not even make my list for tasting of Sauvignon Blancs.
And so it was a very pleasant surprise to try the 2013, which is, without a doubt, one of the best on the market.
The grapes come from the winemaker’s relatively new vineyards on the west coast near Vila Nova de Milfontes, a location selected for white grape cultivation, benefiting from a cooler and more suitable climate than that of the baking plains of the Alentejo where their reds come from.
The 2011 was the first vintage from the vines in question and an altogether different wine from the 2013. Priced at €9.99 at Apolónia, this is an elegant and fresh Sauvignon Blanc that really expresses the variety with notes of green grass, grapefruit and passion fruit on the nose and lively acidity in the mouth.
By PATRICK STUART [email protected]
