£8.50, The Wine Society
I’ve been following this delicious unoaked white from the outset and each vintage more than lives up to its predecessor, the 2016 combining candied citrus fruit and grapefruit zest with the Douro’s characteristic smoky, stony, mineral flavour. It's a blend of local varieties, including Malvasia Fina and Moscatel Galego, from vineyards high up in the Douro Valley belonging to the Symingtons, a remarkable family who own 26 individual wine estates and Graham’s, Cockburn’s, Dow’s and Warres ports, among others. What makes the Symingtons so remarkable, aside from their portfolio of vineyards, wines and ports and their long history in wine in the Douro, is that they all work together with a degree of harmony fuelled by good humour that’s exceptional in any field. Back to the wine: it's a brilliant aperitif, but it also hits the mark with fish and shellfish and summer vegetables. I enjoyed it recently with jellied gazpacho topped with white crab meat.
Symington Family Estates Altano Branco 2016, Douro, Portugal
£8.50, The Wine Society, £9.99, Cambridge Wine Merchants, £10.70, Tanners Wines