So many Portuguese white wines have a functional element of suitability with food and their thinness and acidity making many of them a superb match with seafood a commodity which Portuguese menus are rarely lacking. Rabigato, Viosinho and Arinto do not exactly make stellar sipping wines.
I had the privilege of visiting the Dâo wine region of Portugal pre COVID and became an immediate convert to the white grape Encruzado, a very drinkable wine on its own. For lack of better words somewhat akin to Chardonay. Encruzado’s trademark is imparting a bit of abrasion on the throat or scratchiness if you wish. Possibly the granitic soils it thrives in imparting strange minerality to the wine.
This Freire Lobo 2021 Vigno is a blend of Encruzado (50%), Bical (35%) and Cerceal (15%).
Aroma: Lemon, pear, apple and peach.
Palate: Lemon roasted Portuguese almonds, pineapple and guava with a fine seam of acidity and a long peppery finish. A medium bodied wine.
Personality: I am operating at only 50% Encruzado power here. What a shame for Encruzado purists but nonetheless you can sip me or consume me with food. I am not one of those austere Portuguese white wines.
Food Match: A good match with grilled sea bream or seabass but it would also suit a simple Portuguese roast pork with cabbage and roast potatoes.
Radio Match: LUNA FM Lisboa.
Cellarbility: Drink or hold until 2026-year end.
Price: $18 CDN (Ontario).
RKS 2024 Wine Rating: 89/100. Roger Voss 91.
(Freire Lobo 2021 Vigno, DOC Dâo, Unipessoal, Oliviera do Hospital, Portugal, 750 mL, 13%).
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