Quinta da Pellada Encruzado Dão Branco

Dão, Portugal

Portugal's most distinctive white wine — Álvaro Castro's Encruzado from old-vine granite Dão soils, aged in used French oak with extended lees contact. Extraordinary mineral complexity: quince, hazelnut, white peach, granite stone, toasted almond, and a waxy texture that develops over 8-10 years into something resembling great white Burgundy. The wine that proved Encruzado deserves to be spoken of alongside Chardonnay as Portugal's finest white variety.

Pairing intelligence

• main: Portugal's most universally beloved dish and its finest white wine — Encruzado's mineral complexity and texture matches the salt cod's intense salinity; eggs add richness that bridges the wine's hazelnut; olives' bitterness mirrors the wine's mineral depth
• main: The Dão region's river trout from the Mondego and its greatest white wine — Encruzado's granite mineral and hazelnut character bridges the trout's delicate freshwater flesh; broa's corn sweetness contrasts the wine's mineral austerity; herbs bridge the wine's complexity