From: Dão, Portugal
Varietal: 35% Encruzado, 32% Malvasia Fina, 19% Bical, 14% Gouveio
Taste & Critical Acclaim: Exuberant aromas of stone fruits meet lemon verbena, jasmine, and citrus. As this lovely white wine opens, notes of honeysuckle emerge and meld with hints of almond that ride on a wave of minerality and freshness. The palate largely follows its aromatic indicators and centers around a waxy, stone fruit core highlighted by grapefruit, lime, and galangal before a lingering, mineral finish.
92 Points (2020 vintage review) -John Gilman, View From the Cellar
“2020 Dão Branco- Lúcia Ferreira (Mary Taylor Selections) The 2020 Dão Branco from Lúcia Ferreira is crafted from a cépages of twenty-five percent Encruzado, thirty-two percent Malvasia Fina, nineteen percent Bicoal and fourteen percent Gouveio. The wine is fermented and aged in stainless steel. The 2020 version is drinking beautifully today, delivering a refined bouquet of white peach, fresh lime, a touch of casaba melon, white soil tones, gentle floral tones and a hint of beeswax in the upper register. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a lovely core of fruit, fine soil undertow and grip and a long, well balanced and very classy finish. This is an excellent wine that still has years and years of life ahead of it. 2023-2040+. 92.”
-John Gilman, published by View From the Cellar. Suggested drinking: 2023-2040+
91 Points – Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast, winemag.com
“A blend of mainly Encruzado and Malvasia, this wine is smooth, creamy and full of bright apple and kiwi flavors. It has full fruit and a hint of spice. Drink now.” – Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast, December 1, 2022.
Pairing: White fish, chicken, turkey, clams, bacalhau (we’re sharing a recipe below for Bacalau A Bras), fresh pasta, and soft cheeses are a great start to pairing this white wine successfully. Some ideas for inspiration include serving this alongside tuna Rillettes, Piquillo peppers stuffed with tuna, roasted chicken, caramelized lemon chicken, chicken katsu or mochiko chicken, basil-butter pasta, clam linguine, and creamy avocado pesto pasta (check it out below).
Bacalhau A Bras (Salt Cod Scrambled With Eggs And Potatoes)
By Jean Anderson
Pasta con Palta (Creamy Avocado Pesto Pasta)
Recipe from Sandra A. Gutierrez
Adapted by Christina Morales
Updated Oct. 17, 2023
About. Quinta do Covão has belonged to the Gomes Ferreira family since the seventies.
Located in Sandomil, Seia, near the Serra da Estrela mountain, the Quinta do Covão estate is a privileged area to produce high-quality grapes.
With a total of 50 ha, respecting the methods of integrated production, taking all care of the environment, following the traditions and culture of the vine and knowledge in Portugal. The vineyards are situated at an altitude between 300 and 500 meters and comprise the best varieties of the Dao region, such as Touriga Nacional, Alfrocheiro, Jaen, and Tinta Roriz produced in terraces and Encruzado, Bical, Cercial, Malvasia Fina and Verdelho produced in flat areas.
Lúcia Ferreira started producing wine about 10 years ago, doing her own Quinta do Covão red and white as we know it today.
About the region. Check it out here.
Back to this wine. Many thanks to Mary Taylor Wine for the following information. Our wine from the Dão is from the Quinta do Covão in the stunning village of Sandomil, with its fluvial beach in the river Alva and its old Roman bridge, nestled in the Beira Alta subzone, near the city of Seia. The vineyards of the Quinta are scattered along the slopes of the Estrela mountain range, deeply in a continental climate with high altitudes where cool nights follow warm sunshine. This climate, combined with granitic soils and fresh river water, is ideal for growing grapes with high acidity and making wines that can be cellared.
Lucia Ferreira, sister to our Douro winemaker, Filipe Ferreira, oversees the viticulture and vinification here. Encruzado is predominantly grown here in the Dão – a sturdy white with good acid structure and minerality. Malvasia Fina has smokey and waxy charm which comes through on the nose in this wine. Bical is quite fruity and can get tropical if not picked early. Gouveio, more widely planted in the Alentejo region, gives a nuance of anise and white flowers. Our elegant cuvée is made using only ambient yeast and is hand-harvested. 9 days of maceration and 15 days of lees contact are followed by racking and aging in stainless steel.
Technical Details:
Size: 750ml
Appellation: Dão DO
Soil Type: Granite
Varieties: 35% Encruzado, 32% Malvasia Fina, 19% Bical, 14% Gouveio
Age of Vines: 50-80 years
Farming: Sustainable: HVE 3
Sulphur: 28 mg/L
Alcohol: 12.5%
Aging Details: Stainless steel
