Luis Seabra Douro Xisto Cru Tinto 2019

Luis Seabra is considered one of Portugal's avant-garde winemakers. After a long career as a winemaker at Niepoort, another pioneer in the Douro, he started his own winery. Luis' mission? Show that the Douro, famous for fortified port wines, has an excellent terroir for top quality white and red wines.

He proves that once again with this beautiful Xisto Cru. Cru in this case refers not only to the level of the wine (at least premier, if not grand), but also to Luis' method. Luis wants to let the Douro terroir (schist, or xisto) speak in all purity in his wines, and therefore works as minimalistic as possible in the cellar. Cru is also Portuguese for 'raw' and thus hints at the unadorned style of the wine.

The grapes for the Xisto Cru (a field blend of local varieties) are harvested by Luis by hand in two vineyards in Cima Corgo. The sticks are more than eighty years old, the soil consists of a mix of clay and blue and yellow schist. Luis vinifies the grapes from both plots separately. He lets the whole bunches of grapes ferment spontaneously in open port barrels. The wines are then aged for twenty months in used French oak barriques. Finally, the wines are blended into one whole and bottled.

The result is an impressive red wine with a unique signature. Unmistakably Douro in strength and flavor profile, but at the same time remarkably fresh, mineral and refined. Drink this beautiful wine with dishes with mushrooms or truffle, roasted red meat or game. At its best after several years of bottle aging, or (if drunk young) after aeration in a carafe.