Wine & Spirits - August 2020 - 52

YEAR'S BEST VINHOS VERDES
Every summer, I'm dogged by the same question: Why do so many
Americans drink soda or chardonnay when they could be drinking
Vinho Verde instead? Some have figured out that not only is it one of
the most refreshing white wines you can find, it offers more value for
the money than virtually any drink on the planet. While the quality
improvements of the late 20th centiry came from technological
advances in the wineries, the distinction and sophistication of the top
wines has improved as more estate projects spring up with serious
commitments to farming. Growers in the region were once focused on
trellises, each with their own creative solution to encourage fruit ripening in the challenging maritime climate; today, more are talking about

organic and biodynamic farming, and other techniques that strengthen
the vines through the ecology of the vineyard. These developments
show in a combination of ripeness and freshness of the wines, as well
as clarity in their varietal character. The best of the 2019s, arriving this
spring, share bright fruit and impressive savory depths of flavor. Luís
Cerdeira at Soalheiro reported that the moderate temperatures and
humidity created elegant wines in 2019, generally fresher, with lower
pH levels, than the 2018s. Though he says the vintages were relatively
similar, the 2018s ripened to higher alcohols given the dry heat that
summer. The vines in 2019 were hit by heat at flowering, but benefitted from less intense heat during the ripening season. -J.G.

Our blind panels tasted 47 wines from Portugal's Vinho Verde region over the past 12 months. Joshua Greene, our critic for the wines of
Portugal, rated 15 as exceptional (90+) and 19 as Best Buys. Subscribers can find a complete list of wines tasted, and all reviews, at
wineandspiritsmagazine.com.

91 | Luis Seabra

WHITE
A LV A R I N H O
277853

93 | Soalheiro

$20

2019 Monção e Melgaço Alvarinho ^ Maria
João Cerdeira tends to the vines while her
brother, Luís, makes this wine, a blend from
their own parcels in Melgaço as well as from
neighboring vines they help farm. The Cerdeiras continue to release a broad range of
more specialized alvarinhos, from old vines,
from high-altitude sites or from sulfur-free
winemaking. Their flagship bottling is a
blend of estate and purchased fruit, and this
2019 is the best version we've tasted in recent
years. It captures their placement between
the mountains and the sea, where the Minho
River carries winds inland from the Atlantic.
Bright and fresh when first poured, the wine's
flavors of lemon pith and crunchy apple
extend with air, gaining depth and length
while holding the cool, airy feel of a summer
rain. § Independence Wine & Spirit, NY
277473

92 | Aveleda

$20

2018 Vinho Regional Minho Solos de
Xisto Alvarinho ^ While much of the soil in
Vinho Verde is derived from granite, there are
veins of schist, including the site in Celerico
where Aveleda planted alvarinho vines in
2007. Their concentrated fruit is whole-cluster pressed, then enriched with time on the
lees. Decant the wine and it opens up beyond
the initially tense varietal character of smoke,
pear, lime and talc. Stony minerality builds
directly into the gracious texture, the savory
richness delivering fresh almond flavors that
still feel airy and light. § Aveleda, Pawtucket, RI
277708
52

WINE & SPIRITS

AUGUST 2020

$48

2018 Monção e Melgaço Granito Cru
Alvarinho ^ Best known for his Douro wines,
Luis Seabra makes this alvarinho from a
parcel of vines planted in 1989 in the granite soils of this subregion at the border with
Spain. He ferments and ages the wine in
three ovals fashioned from Eastern European oak- one new, two used. It's powerful
and concentrated, the grip of the soil character battling the oak tannins. Ambitious and
needing bottle age for that ambition to be
fully realized, this is a wine to cellar, letting
the perfume of the oak dissipate and the pale
mineral depths take charge. § Olé & Obrigado
Imports, New Rochelle, NY
277600

90 | Quinta da Lixa

$16

2019 Minho Pouco Comum Alvarinho
(Best Buy) ^ This 2019 includes a little wine
from 2015, '16 and '17, adding depth to its fragrance at the intersection between fresh nuts
and pear flesh, its luscious texture brought to
a close by cleansing acidity. This has an easy
kind of richness, for any simple preparation
of fresh sea bass. § Grape2Glass, Newark, NJ
277723

90 | Quinta de Gomariz

$20

88 | Aveleda

$15

white, its rich mineral savor giving it a salty
finish. For garlicky grilled prawns. § Aveleda,
Pawtucket, RI

ARINTO
277735

93 | Quinta da Raza

$15

2019 Vinho Verde Dom Diogo Arinto (Best
Buy) ^ Arinto was once notable for creating
long-lived white wines in Bucelas. Here, at
an estate in the inland hills of Vinho Verde,
it grew a deliciously ripe 2019 "with fruit off
the charts," as one taster said, pointing to
the cantaloupe, citrus and star-fruit flavors
he found in the wine. For me, it was more
like drippingly juicy pear cleaned up by the
malic acidity of green apples. Then it ends on
the savor of raw almonds. It's compellingly
drinkable, a stony white that's waiting for a
place next to Dungeness crab, as it shares
that same pale buttery savor. § Regal Wine
Imports, Moorestown, NJ

LOUREIRO

2019 Minho Regional Alvarinho ^ This
alvarinho is light and nimble, with a brush
of lemony acidity to clean up its pale melon
flavor. This delivers freshness and simple
pleasure; for most any snacks at 5 p.m. § P.R.
Grisley, Salt Lake City, UT
277471
2019 Vinho Regional Minho Alvarinho
(Best Buy) ^ Aveleda blends alvarinho grown
on granite and schist into this smoky, leesy

277854

93 | Quinta do Ameal

$17

2019 Vinho Verde Sub-região do Lima
Loureiro (Best Buy) ^ This is the first release

http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/quinta+ameal+loureiro+verde+minho+portugal/2019

Wine & Spirits - August 2020

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