The 2009 BRANCO “GRACE VINEYARD - MARQUES DOS VALES” is a blend of Arinto, Malvasia Fina and Siria, fermented in wood. On paper, this wine did not have a lot of wood, but it still seems to mark this rather light wine a bit too much. There is a strong vanilla note fairly constantly, although there is some brightness here and there. It is not unpleasant, or bad, but it could’ve used a little more restraint. It certainly has some charm. Its Portuguese price point is under 9 Euros. There were 4,600 bottles produced. Drink now-2011. This is a first look at this winery in Algarve, a region not terribly well known for wine even in Portugal. Marketing under its brand name, Marques dos Vales, Quinta dos Vales calls itself a “wine and art farm” in the Central Western Algarve, possessed of vineyards, orchards with citrus, figs, plums, apricots, and peaches, plus two sculpture gardens and an animal park. The winemakers here are Paulo Laureano, the esteemed winemaker from Mouchao, and Dorina Lindemann. This may well have been my favorite showing of the Algarve wineries featured in this report. Note: The top level wines carry “Grace” or “Grace Vineyard” on the label. Despite “Grace Vineyard” on some of the labels, I’m told in fact that the wines are NOT single vineyard wines, but are sourced from “Quinta dos Vales’ estate plus a vineyard in the area of Silves.” The term Grace Vineyard, representing the Grace statute on the estate, is used when the wines are blends, while monovarietal wines are simply labeled, for instance, “Grace - Touriga Nacional.” It is admittedly hard to understand, but the winery says it has legal approval. In any event—just drink the wine. It is pretty good.There is no USA importer at this time.