New in at Apolónia (€16.49), this is a wine that is apparently best enjoyed when listening to Fado music; at least that is what it states on the back label.
On the front label, the text reads “Tão alegre vou cantando” (how happily I sing), which is a bit odd given the usually melancholy sound of Fado. The connection is that the wine is made by a Fado singer, on an estate near Évora in the heart of the Alentejo wine lands.
The producer only makes wines from indigenous Portuguese grapes, in this case the white Arinto variety. There is some very clever oak work going on here with the initial vinification in stainless steel before fermenting in new French oak barrels and then spending four months in used barrels.
The oak is not obvious on the nose or on the palate, adding some subtle aromas of dried fruit to citric notes and giving the wine structure in the mouth. This is an elegant white, ideally suited to pair with fish or white meat dishes.
By Patrick Stuart
patrick.stuart@open-media.net
