Winemaker Notes
Made every year since 2006, Conceito Branco is fermented in used French oak barrels and made from the best grapes from very old vineyards. It's a rich and concentrated wine, but with incredible seduction and subtlety. It ages in bottle for at least 10 years and it pairs perfectly with delicate cooking fish and seafood dishes.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Branco, the estate flagship, is a field blend from old (centenarian) vineyards at 600 meters in altitude and aged for 10 months in used French oak. Principal grapes include common Douro white grapes, like Rabigato, Códega, Códega do Larinho, Cerceal, Gouveio and others. Very dry, it also comes in at 12.9% alcohol. When first seen, closer to bottling, this was lovely. It still is, but it has become a bit more expressive. Bright and lively, it absorbs the wood well. There wasn't a lot six months ago, but there seems to be even less oak impact today. It's a wine that makes its way with structure and freshness more than depth or pure power, but that makes it refreshing to drink. It expands in the glass as it airs out and warms up. It is still too soon to see any real development here, but this has all arrows pointing up. It seems refined and sophisticated. It very likely has more to show, but you're going to need to cellar it for a few years to see more nuance and complexity.
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James Suckling
An attractive white showing aromas of white peaches, white sesame, spices and touches of cedar and crushed stones. Medium- to full-bodied, round and textured, with vivid acidity and a lingering finish.
With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
The home of Port—perhaps the most internationally acclaimed beverage—the Douro region of Portugal is one of the world’s oldest delimited wine regions, established in 1756. The vineyards of the Douro, set on the slopes surrounding the Douro River (known as the Duero in Spain), are incredibly steep, necessitating the use of terracing and thus, manual vineyard management as well as harvesting. The Douro's best sites, rare outcroppings of Cambrian schist, are reserved for vineyards that yield high quality Port.
While more than 100 indigenous varieties are approved for wine production in the Douro, there are five primary grapes that make up most Port and the region's excellent, though less known, red table wines. Touriga Nacional is the finest of these, prized for its deep color, tannins and floral aromatics. Tinta Roriz (Spain's Tempranillo) adds bright acidity and red fruit flavors. Touriga Franca shows great persistence of fruit and Tinta Barroca helps round out the blend with its supple texture. Tinta Cão, a fine but low-yielding variety, is now rarely planted but still highly valued for its ability to produce excellent, complex wines.
White wines, generally crisp, mineral-driven blends of Arinto, Viosinho, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina and an assortment of other rare but local varieties, are produced in small quantities but worth noting.
With hot summers and cool, wet winters, the Duoro has a maritime climate.