The 2014 Branco CV, just the second release here, seems on the way to remarkable. The debut release last year was quite a debut. This may up the ante, another in an increasing number of Portuguese whites that makes me think that mid-90s scores will become commonplace, not rare. An old-vines (80 years old) field blend, this was aged for eight months in new French barriques. It comes in at 13.5% alcohol and seems quite concentrated for a 2014. Not long in bottle when first seen, this a mouthfilling white with big fruit, big acidity and serious power. Yet, it is also very graceful. It handles the oak rather brilliantly, too, and that will get even better with age. This should age beautifully, by the way, the concentration and acidity combining to allow it plenty of time. Let's start by giving it another decade or so, then we'll see where we are. Admittedly, there isn't a lot of track record yet with this bottling. There were just 853 bottles and 50 magnums produced.
(WA 28th Aug 2015)
