Some tropical mango and lychee with a soft, full feel. There's a lot of creaminess coming across, so you can really notice the lees ageing. The gewurztraminer adds a tiny spice to it and some real interest.
Rui works with his sister and father to produce their wines. Their grandfather made wine very traditionally for his own personal consumption. Their father then took it up as a hobby while he wasn't working as a doctor. He is moving to sustainable organic farming and hoping to get some sheep to manage the grass between the vines.
Tejo is in the centre of Portugal, near Lisbon. It benefits from lots of sunshine. The four grape varieties in this wine are unusual. They are not normally in a blend together which adds interest to the wine.
Gewurztraminer adds a little spice, while sauvignon blanc adds fresh fruits and acidity. Chardonnay adds great ageing potential. Verdelho is a grape found mainly in Portugal where it gives rich wines.
The vineyards here are a mixture of hand harvesting and machine harvesting. The steeper slopes can't be reached by machine, so they must be done by hand.
Technology means machines are increasingly more gentle with grapes, and it also means they can harvest at the perfect time and not wait for a team to arrive.
The softness and body in this wine come from two different things. The first is the fermentation inside French oak barrels. The porous wood softens wine.
The second is from lees aging. These are the dead yeast cells that collect in the barrel. They are killed off in fermentation and start to decompose. It makes the wine full and creamy.
Winemaker Rui runs the Quinta da Ribeirinha vineyard with his father and sister in Tejo, in the centre of Portugal. This white blend is unusual in that it combines four grapes not usually blended together: sauvignon blanc, verdelho, chardonnay and gewurztraminer. As a result, this wine is rich, fresh and fruity, with a little spice - all at the same time.