Luis Seabra Vinho Verde Monção e Melgaço Granito Cru Alvarinho 2020

	Rich and complex Alvarinho of granite soils
	Ripe stone fruit, fresh acidity, minerality and toast
	Delicious with oysters, seafood, risotto or white meat

Description

When you think of Vinho Verde, you soon think of nice and fresh, slightly tingling, not too complicated white summer wines. Indeed a good description of the average Vinho Verde. But it's the exception that proves the rule. And the exception is this beautiful Alvarinho Cru from Portuguese icon winemaker Luis Seabra.

An exception in the double sense of the word, because not only is the quality of the wine particularly high, Seabra is also actually a Douro producer. However, we are very grateful to him for this very successful trip to the Vinho Verde region. Luis' approach is similar to that of his Douro wines. Terroir expression is paramount, the winemaking process is secondary.

Seabra harvests the alvarinho grapes manually in three plots in Melgaço. The soil consists of sandy loam of granite origin, hence Granito Cru. After the harvest, the grapes are destemmed and crushed. The grapes ferment with naturally present yeasts in large, used wooden barrels. The wine does not undergo malolactic fermentation and Luis does not add any extra sulfites anywhere. Finally, the wine matures for another 12 months in the same wooden barrels with the yeasts, but without being stirred.

As far as we are concerned, the Granito Cru proves without question that this minimalist method can produce great wines. With its ripe-fruity, but also tight-fresh, mineral character and subtle hint of toast, this is the wine with oysters, a plateau fruits de mer, or a luxurious dish with fish or white meat. A Cru of caliber!

Drink at

Powerful, crisp white wine to enjoy on its own, or to drink with boiled or fried shellfish, grilled sardines or soft cheese.

Tasting note

Complex, dry white wine with a layered scent of peach, apricot and white flowers. The taste is refreshingly fresh, full and juicy. Very nice in the final with saltiness and toast.

Shelf life

Drink from 3 years and can be kept until about 8 years after harvest.