“This wine’s dynamic flavors gain their freshness from a north-facing granite hillside in the Pinhao Valley. You might find coriander, white peach, white cherry and green mango, just as you might find a mix of varieties in this field blend of 52-year-old vines – including – gouveio, viosinho, rabigato and codega do larinho. Sandra Tavares and Jorge Serôdio Borges ferment fruit and age it in stainless steel, letting it rest on the lees for six months, allowing this fragrant, bone-dry white to let its mineral ties to the soul last through the layers of fruit. Match its verve to seared diver scallops or a wood-oven roasted sea bass.”

“A mouthwatering white, with a minerally base and a zesty streak of lime peel accenting notes of crunchy pear, star fruit, almond blossoms and lemon thyme. Lightly chalky in texture on the snappy finish. Viosinho, Rabigato and Côdega do Larinho.”

“The 2020 Branco Manoella is an unoaked field blend from old vines, including Rabigato, Viosinho and Gouveio, planted on granitic soil at 600 meters in altitude. It comes in very dry and at 12.3% alcohol. A beautifully constructed regular Branco, this is deep enough, always fresh and always lively. There's a hint of spice on the finish and a hint of lime. The freshness lifts the fruit and allows it to linger. There's controlled tension. In this wine's youth, it seems like one of the best in the brand so far. I'm always a little concerned about rating these too highly for fear they will diminish too quickly as they age. For the moment, this exceeds expectations. Now it needs to prove it can develop and hold.”

“Smells more herbal than the Vinha do Altar 2020 just tasted but also riper, more pear than citrus. A little broader and richer in the mouth too, with a lovely mix of stone fruit, white blossom, spice and finishes with taut, vibrant citrus. There's a creamy roundness as well as a slight friction to the texture, as if there had been some brief skin contact before pressing (though the tech sheet doesn't say so). The finish reminds me of Grüner Veltliner's peppery quality.”– 16.5 out of 20