2008 Altano Branco, Douro

The Symingtons have set out to prove that the combination of white wine and Portugal can indeed be felicitous and can engender wines of clean crisp aromatics with refreshing palate profiles. Altano Branco is such a wine, a real revelation, as it maintains a distinctive warm-climate generosity of texture, yet has a lovely chalky, almost grapefruit note at the back of the mouth, which is very satisfying and long. I suppose everyone is very keen to know what the grape varieties are, so I will not hold back any longer; it is an equal blend of Malvasia Fina, Viosinho and Moscatel Galego. Ideal, of course, with salted cod or similar!
(Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer)