Cartuxa Pera Manca White 2021

This refined white is well-crafted, with an elegant profile packed with pineapple filling, mango and tangerine flavors, showing accents of vanilla, honeysuckle and oak spice, followed by a mouthwatering finish. Antão Vaz and Arinto.

The 2017 Pêra-Manca Branco is a 55/45 blend of Arinto and Antão Vaz, aged for 12 months in 75% used French oak. It comes in at 13% alcohol. This is sourced from 30-year-old vines on granitic soil. A fine vintage for this brand, this Branco shows good concentration, notable power, freshness and some tension on the finish. The textured finish lingers nicely. The wine evolves and blossoms as it airs too, becoming more complex and pulling in some of the wood. It's a beautiful food wine. It was terrific the next day, but it ideally needs time. To be sure, you can enjoy this now, but giving it another couple of years in the cellar would be a better idea. It still has upside potential, and it may improve with a couple of years of cellaring. It should age well, perhaps better than indicated, so there is no rush.

The wood-aged blend of Antão Vaz and Arinto is certainly ripe, full and spicy, with great intensity. Even at three years, this impressive wine is still young. Its peppy fruit needs a little more time to calm down. This wine is very fine, despite a needlessly heavy bottle, and will be ready from 2020.