Quinta da Murta (Portugal) Bucelas 2004
Faced with a sometimes overwhelming flood of wines from around the word, but made with the same dozen grape varieties, I am on a permanent lookout for ‘something different’. Portugal is often a good source of wines from indigenous grapes, and recent decades have seen ever improving quality for dry Portuguese table wines. This one is made from the lemony Arinto de Bucelas variety, in the Bucelas region about 30 miles north of Lisbon. It is a pale green in colour, with an aromatic citrus nose, offering little hints of white flowers, dried herbs and nectarine skins. On the palate this has real tang and bite, with a smooth texture and waxy, lemony core of fruit. It is quite long and tantalising, and calling out for fish and seafood: a big plate of grilled langoustine with garlic, lemon and butter perhaps. £5.99 Luvians
