The long overdue trend of Portuguese winemakers moving away from oaking (and in too many cases over-oaking) their whites unnecessarily continues apace. The Encruzado grape is the backbone of all good Dão whites but, as a varietal, the vast majority of Encruzados on the market are still far too oaky for my taste.
There are exceptions of course, and being a grape that yields wines with a high level of acidity and the capability to produce whites of depth and concentration, many of the premium Dão whites do benefit from the careful use of French oak.
One of the best producers in the Dão region is Álvaro Castro whose labels include the superb premium level red “Pape” and one of Portugal’s best whites “Primus”.
This Quinta de Saes Encruzado truly shows the skill of the winemaker and the quality of the Encruzado grape. Unoaked and matured on the lees for six months with battonage in steel vats, it’s a wine with good ageing potential, but this 2011 that has only just been released is already drinking beautifully.
The wine has complex citric notes on the nose with good minerality and a full texture in the mouth with layers of green fruit flavours.
It’s not cheap at €14.95 (Apolónia price) but well worth the money when looking for a high quality white with depth and complexity for food pairing, especially for those who are not too fond of oak.
By PATRICK STUART [email protected]
