Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
This vineyard surrounds a 16th-century manor house, restored as a small hotel at the turn of the 21st century. The 18.5 acres of vines, alvarinho in light granite soils, were planted in 1997. They produced a sexy 2015, as brisk as a young Chablis (reductive in the best sense), with the languid rhythm of the waves on a summer beach, cresting to stone and lemon, then broadening out to Mandarin orange zest, the undulating wave repeated with each sip, then echoed in each breath, as it would be echoed by the meatiness of grilled octopus.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Alvarinho is dry and comes in at 13% alcohol. This is nicely structured, but it is most impressive for its expressive fruit. Ripe and delicious, with a solid mid-palate and crispness on the edges, this is a beautifully crafted Alvarinho. It should hold for several years, but it is hard to resist now. I am told this will be released in the U.S. in June, but there was no importer information was yet available.
With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
A cheerful, translucid, lemon-yellow and slightly pétillant white wine, Vinho Verde literally means ‘green wine’ and is named after the northwest Portugese region from which it originates. The ‘green’ in the name refers to the youthful state in which the wines are customarily released and consumed, not the color of the wine.
It is typically a blend of various percentages of Alvarinho, Loureiro, Trajadura, and Pedernã (Arinto). Following initial alcoholic fermentation, a natural, secondary malolactic conversion in cask produces carbon dioxide, giving Vinho Verde its charmingly light sparkle.