Conceito Douro Branco 2018
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Robert
Parker
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Conceito White is made every year, since 2006. Fermented in used French oak barrels, is 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.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Branco, the estate flagship, is a field blend from old (centenarian) vines aged for ten months in used French oak. Principal grapes include common Douro whites, like Rabigato, Códega, Códega do Larinho, Cerceal, Gouveio and others. It comes in at 13% alcohol. This was set for bottling in a week, but it was the final blend. Beautifully balanced, this handles its wood brilliantly, allowing the fresh fruit to show off its stuff. It's a little delicate this year, but it also has an enlivening demeanor that lets it dance across the palate. This understated white is perfect to drink, but it could use a bit more body. It is still young—let's see if it develops in the bottle. Range: 92-93
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The way that Conceito Vinhos conceives of the wine, the deep understanding of their region, is the starting point for the project–inspiration for their story. Hence the Brand (Conceito = Concept). Port wine has monopolized wine production there since the 18th Century, producing a landscape of extraordinary beauty. But only recently people become aware of the tremendous potential of the eastern Douro.
Firstly, with the opening up of better access routes; and then with the table wine revolution. It has largely been this latter factor that has opened the way to a universe of specificities along the river course, a huge valley that can no longer be seen and cultivated as a uniform and undifferentiated whole. The wine will inevitably come to exhibit its various “terroirs”. Understanding them, working properly their widely differing altitudes, soils and microclimates is a journey from which there is no turning back, and one upon which Conceito Vinhos wholeheartedly embark. In search of the freshness and balance of terrain. That is the Concept!
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.