Last week I revisited Wine & Co, the small wine shop and distribution company located on the roundabout at the entrance to Almancil.
Some months ago, I wrote of my first visit when I was initially not too impressed by the limited selection of wines but soon changed my mind upon discovering that most of what was on the shelves here is not available anywhere else in the Algarve.
On this visit, I found this Dão, made from the region’s flagship white grape Encruzado. Of all Portuguese white varieties, this is probably the grape that best lends itself to oak fermenting and ageing. The grape produces strongly flavoured wines with good acidity and mineral character that benefit from oaking. That said, there are many severely over-oaked Encruzados out there and also some interesting un-oaked examples.
Here we have a good example of a very well balanced oaked Encruzado. On the nose the oak is present but well integrated with predominant notes of green apples, clean and fresh in the mouth yet well rounded with a good mineral finish. Excellent value for money at €9.50.
