Branco Vulcânico 2018

The 2018 Branco Vulcânico is mostly Arinto dos Açores, plus 15% Verdelho. It is unoaked and comes in at 12.5% alcohol, and with a pH of 3.5. Winemaker Antonio Maçanita says that this comes in between the regular Arinto and the Arinto Sur Lie in style. Fresh, a little spicy and very perky, this shows reasonable concentration, a long finish and some notable grip. It is also well integrated and balanced, though. I'm not sure this felt like a long-ager to me, but Antonio assured me that he never had a wine from the Azores that was dead, and this will last "forever." Let's start here with something a little more realistic and take that in stages. Forever is a long time.-Mark Squires.