Quinta de Porrais Branco '20

This is the flagship white wine of the Porrais estate, once owned by one of the Douro Valley’s most iconic 19th-century figures, Antónia Adelaide Ferreira (also known by the name Ferreirinha). While she is known to have once owned the most land in the Douro Valley, and was one of Portugal’s wealthiest people, what’s more significant is how she uplifted the people of the Douro. She was an advocate for worker’s rights, a champion for the poor, and a role model for women given her importance in what is still a male-dominated business. Quinta de Porrais was one of the roughly 20 estates that Ferreirinha owned at the time of her death, in 1896. This magnificent quinta is located in the northern hills of the Cima Corgo region in the Douro. Much of the estate’s vineyard land sits at high elevation, making it ideal for the production of fresh and mineral-driven white wines. While Quinta de Porrais is not owned by the family anymore, Ferreirinha’s great-great-great-grandson “Xito” Olazabal still makes the wines today.

The Quinta de Porrais Branco is produced from the local indigenous varieties Rabigato and Códega do Larinho, harvested from the estate’s oldest vineyards, planted in shale at an elevation of 600 meters (1,968 feet). Fermented and rested in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, the aromatics of this wine leap from the glass, with bright aromas of fresh melon and white flowers. The texture is silky, with a surprising core of fruit on the midpalate, and a long, explosive finish. This is perennially one of Portugal’s top white wine values. Pair it with fresh oysters or spicier preparations of shellfish.