An easy yet delicious dinner was had this past weekend when we poured Taboadella Reserva Encruzado White 2025 (sent as a sample) to sip and savor with tacos boasting freshly caught Pacific Ocean sea bass. From beginning to end, the fresh flavors of both wine and fish were restaurant-quality and I can’t wait to have more. Having not enjoyed Encruzado in a very long time, it was a treat to open a chilled bottle and revisit this rare, indigenous grape grown almost exclusively from the Dao region in central northern Portugal.
Also known as Salgueirinho, Encruzado from producer Taboadella, owned by the Amorim Family, is cultivated in high-altitude vineyards on granite of hundreds of thousands of years. The result of the Winemaker Rodrigo Costa’s efforts are a wine that offers energy, satin-like texture, precise acidity, and plenty of breadth and depth. Considered a grape with much potential in the Dao region, this white grape may be challenging in the winemaking process since it is “prone to oxidation and the loss of its delicate aromas which can be a complex mix of capsicum, roses and violets, flinty minerality and lemon,” remarks Jancis Robinson et al. in Wine Grapes. Most of today’s Encruzado are meant for early consumption. Although there were only 729 acres planted in Portugal as of 2010, there is growing recognition for its potential and increased plantings may be realized.
Photo Credit: Taboadella
Although Taboadella’s records date back to 1255, historical research has revealed that its occupation is much older. It dates back to the first century with the heritage of a Villae Romana, at the time an upper-class rural property consisting of a house, a cellar and a barn along with other small buildings nestled by a mixed forest of pine, oak and chestnut. This “Silvã”, or forest in Latin, coincides with the name of the current parish – Silvã de Cima – and indicates how this agricultural community has lasted over time.
The Villae translates a form of organization that functioned as one of the pillars of support of the Roman Empire, whose occupation strategy included the planting of vines on the lands conquered from the interior as a form of territorial and cultural demarcation, as well as a form of income. From these times there are several archaeological remains that have been identified here, namely construction ceramics (imbrices and tegulas) and everyday use (Hispanic sigillata), manual millstones, architectural elements, a granite funerary plaque that reads: L∙A(hedera?) ICO ANN(orum) XXV ∙ H(ic) ∙ S(itus) ∙ E(st) and the Roman mill, one of the oldest traces of winemaking in the Dão region./Taboadella is located in Silvã de Cima – current municipality of Sátão, district of Viseu – which was once a small parish included in the land of Golfar, which was donated to knightly noblemen and which later became part of the Order of Christ and elevated to a municipality, having received a charter from King D. Manuel, on August 20, 1504.
The property seems to have been very desirable by several noble families over time, as evidenced by the coat of arms of the XVIII century. XIX of the Azeredo e Albuquerque family, which can be seen in the distance in the main house, surrounded by a secular garden characteristic of a beautiful and elegant family house in the Dão of the time.
The records found with the name of Taboadella are even older. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries “Taboadella” is mentioned in the Register of the Population of the Kingdom ordered by D. João III, in 1527. However, the antiquity of the property goes back to 1258 with its mention in the New Reading of King Manuel I, in the Inquiries of King Afonso III. Taboadella
60,000 bottles of 100% Reserva Encruzado White 2025 ($36) was bottled in April 2026. Although 2025 offered a rainy spring and an extremely hot and dry summer, vine health was balanced and resilient. Hand harvested, the wine was aged in used 500 liter French oak barrels, 30% in cement Tulipe tanks, and 20% in stainless steel tanks for six months. On the nose, I found aromas of crisp green apple, hint of pineapple and apricot, lemon curd, and bright florals. The balanced, complex palate presented racy acidity and the grape’s signature minerality leading to a lingering finish. Truth be told, I crave finding new-to-me wines and the Encruzado was completely satisfying.
Understanding that Encruzado shines when paired with grilled fish, other seafood, white meats, fresh salads, and aged cheese dishes, the Reserva Encruzado White was exceptional with our freshly caught Pacific Ocean sea bass, perfectly cleaned and fileted. Nestled in corn tortillas with fresh vegetables and dollop of sauce, the rich fish met its companion in the Encruzado 2025 thanks to the wine’s firm and silky texture, notes of citrus, stone fruit, and florals, along with brilliant minerality.
Let’s pay homage to Portugal’s food and wine traditions with a bottle of complex Taboadella Reserva Encruzado White 2025 to complement your favorite seafood dish. Enjoy!
Cheers! ~ Cindy
