Casa Ermelinda Prestigious Portuguese White

Portugal offers a wide range of unique grape varieties. This Branco comes from a winery in Palmela on the Setúbal Peninsula, where the hot sun is tempered by a cooling sea breeze. The grapes for this Branco are harvested by hand in early September. The blend consists of 35 percent Fernão Pires, 35 percent Arinto, and 30 percent Chardonnay.

Women at the helm

The owner is Leonor Freitas, who received the Order of Merit for her contribution to the Portuguese wine industry. She certainly knows how to optimize the country's indigenous varieties. She is the fourth-generation winemaker at this dynamic company in Fernando Pó, about fifty kilometers south of Lisbon. The company was founded over a hundred years ago by Deonilde Freitas. Initially, the wines were sold unlabeled to wholesalers. After the sudden death of her husband, Manuel João (the only man to ever head the company), Leonor's mother, Ermelinda, took over operations and gave it her name. She decided almost immediately to plant multiple varieties. And in 1997, the first wines were sold under her name. For this white wine, she enlisted Parker-acclaimed winemaker Jaime Quendera, who blended crisp Fernão Pires with floral Arinto, mandarin citrus Antão Vaz, and tropical Chardonnay. A brief touch of oak adds creaminess—a winning blend that has received 47 awards since 2006.

Wines with an exotic flavor profile

Like many wines from Portugal, Ermelinda Freitas's wines are distinguished by the use of indigenous grape varieties, often unknown in the Netherlands. This results in wines with a unique, almost exotic flavor profile. Grapes such as Arinto, Fernão Pires, Antão Vaz, and Castelão, in addition to the winemaker's expertise and craftsmanship, are responsible for this.