white grape · rare
Rabigato
Douro Superior, Portugal
Say it
rah·bee·gah·too
Final -o reduces to -u in European Portuguese; name derives from 'rabo de gato' (cat's tail), referencing elongated cluster shape
On the palate
Body
medium
Acidity
high
Aromatics
medium
orange blossomgreen applepearlemonwet stonesalinity
How you spot it blind: penetrating, biting acidity with mineral salinity; structural backbone of Douro whites
The story
First written down · early 16th century (c. 1531), Portugal
Written records date to the early 16th century in the Douro; DNA parentage (VIVC 9857) confirms Cayetana Blanca as one parent, with the second unknown.
Family tree: CAYETANA BLANCA × ?
Where it lives
Douro, Portugal
Shows up as
still whitefortified