Portal da Estrela, Dao Branco 2024

Aromas of ripe bramble fruit, plum and a touch of spice. Generous on the palate with fresh red cherry and blackberry leaf characters - supple tannins give structure, all rounded off with a touch of spice on the juicy finish.

Luis Seabra may be a new name on the Portuguese wine scene, but he has already had a hand in crafting some of the Douro’s most exciting wines, working as Dirk Niepoort’s right-hand man from 2004 until leaving to set up his own label in 2012. He is starting small, releasing two whites and one red, with a total production of just 5,000 bottles per wine. Winemaking is minimal-intervention, and the style very much reflects the concentration of care lavished by this experienced winemaker on his tiny output.

A bright, lifted palate shows flavours of freshly picked nectarines, peaches and pears, all against a complex backdrop of wet stones, chalk. Graceful and powerful all at once, with a salty, savoury complexity and a compellingly chewy texture which runs through to the lengthy finish