Altano Branco, Douro, Symington Family Estates

Description

Altano Branco is a white wine blend vinified from a selection of Douro white grape varieties including Malvasia Fina, Viosinho, Rabigato and Moscatel Galego.

The Altano brand is owned by the world-famous Symington family (owners of Grahams, Dows and Warres Port amongst others) under their Symington Family Estates company. They are now the largest vineyard owner in the Douro Valley with a total of 947 hectares split between 26 vineyards. They are also the largest organic wine producers in Portugal via their three Quintas in the Vilarica Valley, Quinta de Assares, Quinta da Canada and Quinta do Ataide. The family are strong believers in the Douro’s indigenous grape varieties and producing quality wines that showcase the uniqueness of the region, its terroirs, and natural flavours and aromas. All Symington Family Estate vineyards are managed under sustainable viticulture practices which aim for minimum intervention, in order to protect and promote biodiversity, and the family farm the largest organic vineyard in the Douro (112 hectares).

Altano Branco is produced from grapes grown in higher altitude vineyards including from the
Symington family owned Quinta da Fonte Branca near Lamego, and from vineyards in the Alijó and Favaios. These are areas where cooler temperatures provide the ideal conditions for the even maturation of white grapes. The result is a zesty, aromatic wine with tropical fruit flavours and a refreshing crisp acidity. The wine is made at modern Quinta do Sol winery near Regua, one of the most modern facilities in the region. After de-stemming and a light crushing, some contact between the must and the skins is encouraged in order to extract the desired aromatic compounds. After clarification, the must is fermented in stainless steel vats at 14-16°C. The ageing process in tanks is carried out with minimal contact with oxygen, in order to ensure maximum
preservation of the primary aromas.

The 2020 is a blend of Viosinho 35%, Malvasia Fina 30%, Moscatel Galego 20%, Arinto 5%, Rabigato 5% and Gouveio 5%.

The winemakers are Charles Symington and Pedro Correia, assisted by the Symington DOC Douro winemaking team.