2021 Granito Cru Alvarinho, Luis Seabra
Brilliant straw. On the nose, high toned and mineral driven aromas of lemon peel, green apple, lemongrass and seashells. On the palate, impressive weight combined with laser-focused acidity. Incisive flavors of lemon, unripe peach, green apple, green mango are at the core, with focused and pervasive mineral notes.
"The 2021 Granito Cru Alvarinho comes from the 3.5 hectares of Alvarinho he has in Melgaço (he's going to plant another half hectare there). It has a golden color and a very expressive, perfumed and different nose, with something savory, reminiscent of a Savagnin. It fermented in foudres of different sizes where it matured and then was fine-tuned in stainless steel. It was produced in an oxidative way, and then the stainless steel and bottle make it more reductive. It has an austere palate, with chalkiness and the granularity and sapid twist of the granite soils. It's medium-bodied, with moderate ripeness and 12% alcohol. Like all of the whites, it goes through full malolactic and spends two winters in the winery before it's bottled. 11,280 bottles and 160 magnums. It was bottled in March 2023. I tasted a bottle from the first vintage, 2013, and it's still going strong. Drink 2024-2030." Luis Gutierrez, The Wine Advocate