Alvaro Castro, Dão Branco

Wine Type: White

Grape(s): Cercial-Branco, Bical, Encruzado

Country: Portugal

Region: Dão DOC

Organic: Yes

Vegan: Yes

ABV: 12%

Tasting Notes: Bright and fresh on the nose, it's surprisingly quite silky on the the palate with citrus, green apples and a slightly grapefruity bite on the finish.

Winemaking: Grapes are hand-picked. The wine is given 6 hours skin contact and fermentation occurs through a pied de cuve (indigenous yeast starter) in temperature controlled, stainless steel tanks. Wine undergoes 3 months of battonage in tank before bottling.

Today the Dão is probably the best place in Portugal to find fresher aromatic styles of wines made from one of the many interesting Portuguese indigenous grape varieties. Alvaro Castro is widely acknowledged as the region’s best winemaker. His vines are between 3 and 65 years old, planted at an average of 500 metres above sea level. Soils are granite with rows of sand and clay, and climate is Continental.