Quinta da Lixa  Branco 2005, D.O.C. Vinho Verde **HERITAGE WINE**

Colour: very light white green with a lot of tiny CO2 bubbles
Nose: expressive, with many clean and clear fruity (apple, apricot), spicy (cloves) and mineral nuances, very fresh, young and straight style, quite serious for a Vinho Verde.
Taste: dry, slightly pétillant (very small CO2 bubbles), very fresh, intense, medium bodied, piquant, impressions of apricots, green apples, a touch of spice, a tiny, subtle bitterness  and sweetness (alcohol?) very clear and clean, a hint of depth and just a bit of complexity.
Finish: quite long, very fresh, intense, minerals, acidity, some apples, apricot, some spices, a tiny touch of bitterness and sweetness, very clean.

* Very fresh and intense dry white wine, some CO2 give this wine extra freshness, medium bodied, with nice and clean fruit, spice and mineral nuances (apricot, apples, clove, yeast), clean and crystal clear style, refreshing character. A "serious" and surprisingly powerful and complex wine for a Vinho Verde,

- Can be drunk now, will keep till 2008.

- Excellent and very consistent wine maker in the Northern part of Portugal, using both Trajadura and Loureiro grapes for this wine. Is well equipped with modern vinification techniques. Freshness is the key word here. Quinta da Lixa also produces wines from single varieties: the Trajadura 2004 and Loureiro 2004. The first is more mineral, the second is more aromatic and fruity. The 2004 blended wine clearly showed the benefit of blending, these two grapes supplement each other perfectly, the resulting wine was clearly a class above the (good) single variety wines. The 2005 is remarkably similar to the previous two vintages. Very good quality for a very affordable price in a luxurious Bordeaux bottle.

- lotnr.: L 01906

- tasted: 12-06-’06

- estimated retail price ca. 5,50 euro

- average production: not known

- Sociedade Agricola Quinta da Lixa, Monte 4615 Lixa, Portugal / tel.: +351-255491710 / fax.: + 351-255491711  / e-mail: info@quintadalixa.pt / web site:  www.quintadalixa.pt

- Export agent: Vinko, Rua Candido dos Reis, 575, 4400-075 Villa Nova de Gaia, tel.: + 351-22 377 33 30 / fax.: + 351-22-375 37 35 / e-mail:  vinko@vinkowines.com / web site: www.vinkowines.com