Invincible Number Two Douro Branco 2019

Description

Invincible Number Two Douro Branco 2019 is an amazing, crisp Portuguese white wine with substance. The producers of this wine are renowned winemakers Rita Marques, who has been described as “the changing face of Douro winemaking”, and Marc Kent of Boekenhoutskloof, whose wines I have been stocking for several years. They had previously worked together in South Africa and elsewhere in Portugal before buying an estate in Casais do Douro where this wine is produced as part of their collaboration, Companhia de Vinhos Invencivel. The label of Invincible Number Two Douro Branco 2019 represents the fight between Adamastor, personification of the Cape of Good Hope and the forces of the sea, that had to be overcome by Portuguese sailors in the Age of Discovery. Perhaps that’s because this wine has a hint of salinity on the nose which carries through to the palate and complements a barrage of stone fruit flavours. After this complex mix of stone fruits comes a minerally citrus finish.

As you would expect from these wine makers, they practice minimal intervention producing wines that represent the local varieties and terroir. For Invincible Number Two Douro Branco 2019 the local varieties include Rabigato, Codega, Donzelinho Brancl, Boal and Codega do Larinho in a field blend. The vineyards were planted over 90 years ago and the old vines account for a lot of the complexity of the wine. Invincible Number Two Douro Branco 2019 has been aged for 10 months in used Frenach barrels so the oak influence oon the flavour is just a light touch. The oak is used mainly to give the wine a bit more of a rounded mouthfeel. This is a really crisp wine though the crisp acidity has softened in the several months since JancisRobinson.com found it to be a little high and that makes this wine a perfect food wine.