Hugo Mendes 'Underdog' Curtimenta

Pale greeny gold. The aroma is utterly distinctive and literally made my heart race. It's lime-fruited, with notes of apricot, orange and jasmine and yet somehow steely – so difficult to put into words. Just a touch smoky too. It's intensely aromatic yet so much more subtle – especially in terms of tannins – than many skin-fermented whites. In the mouth are flavours of cedar, non-sweet honey, greengage, even a completely unexpected note of peach. Bone dry. Harmonious, even rounded in the mouth despite the evident tannins of skin fermentation. A deliciously creative wine with masses of complexity already and likely to age well. One of the most complex and yet subtle skin-fermented wines I have tasted. Long finish. If only there were more than the 4,623 numbered bottles. (18 points by Julia Harding for JancisRobinson.com)

Arinto

Full bottle 1,142 g. Manual harvest, grapes destemmed, fermented with the skins without temperature control. At the end of fermentation the tank was closed for 6 months before pressing. Bottled a week later, March 2023, without filtration or stabilisation. Label by Filipe Pereira, created just for this vintage. (Different image but same artist for every vintage of this wine.) TA 5.95 g/l, pH 3.66.

Serve cold 7 -9°C