soalheiro

BEYOND VINHO VERDE

Most people that are familiar with Portuguese Vinho Verde see it as a delightful but typically simple quaff to accompany appropriate seafood preparations. But not all Vinho Verdes are created equal. Some producers take the wine a bit more seriously. Soalheiro has been a favorite of ours for a long time because, well, there’s just more to it as a rule. They make more than one expression of the genre, but our usual favorite is the one made from straight Alvarinho (the Portuguese name for Albarino). Yeah, it costs a little more than your typical ‘$10 or less’ versions, but there’s much more going on in the glass.

What we had never seen before is this version, Soalheiro Alvarinho Vinho Verde Primeiras Vinhas 2019. The story is that Soalheiro was a pioneer in the creation of Alvarinho wine in Melgaço. In the nineteen seventies (1974 to be exact), a passion for winemaking led João António Cerdeira, with the support of his father, António Esteves Ferreira, to plant the first Alvarinho vines and to create the first brand of Alvarinho in Melgaço in 1982, and one of the first Alvarinho brands in the sub-region of Monção and Melgaço. This area is located in northern Portugal, not terribly far south of Spain’s Raixas Bias region where Albarino thrives.

This particular bottling, which is grown organically and harvested by hand, comes from those original Alvarinho vines planted some 40 years ago (‘primeras vinhas’ means ‘first vines’). It also got a significant and rather exapnsive review from Decanter Magazine, “With two wines in our top 50 ‘Best In Show’of a great grape variety, though, resembles that of a great actor: the ability to subsume its own personality inside that of the place (or the character) it is representing or portraying. Compare this (our first ever Best In Show Vinho Verde) with its Galician peer, and you will see a clear difference. This Portuguese wine is much quieter aromatically — but haunting and tenacious, with hints of linden blossom and wet stone. It’s concentrated, cool, sheer, tongue-freshening … yet tenacious once again, with the presence and force of character which typifies its Moncao e Melgaco origins. That impression of a cool, wet granite landscape somehow conveyed by the wine lingers all the way through the long finish. .. 97 Points.”

You can bet this wine would have been an email for us given the wine’s remarkable expression in the glass, review and price ($26.98). Simply put, there wasn’t enough juice for that. Limited, grab this striking white while you can.

Vinho Verde a Cut Above

If you have ever been to Portugal, the whole idea of Vinho Verde (literally the term means ‘green wine’) is completely ingrained in the culture. The genre essentially exists to ‘serve,’ delivering a crisp, clean, vibrant wine to drink on the patio, along the shore, or with a plate of seafood. In most of its manifestations it is typically a functional wine, made more to wash down nibbles and not necessarily to be contemplated to any great degree. All of that works fine in Portugal. But when you get back here and aren’t sitting in a café at the beach, most of the wines come off as simple, one-dimensional, and yeoman. While we love the concept of that all-purpose, crisp, vibrant white to go with all manner of fare, there has to be more.

Ambience, and the fact that most vinho verdes are laughably cheap in Portugal, do a lot to contribute to the Vinho Verde experience. It is simply ‘happy wine’ to be quaffed with gusto. On this side of the pond there needs to be some separation. Only a few examples are any more than just ‘functional white wine’. But a few rise to the next level and raise the bar for the entire genre.

Those are good enough to make people take them seriously because they not only provide that clean counterpoint to a wide variety of nibbles, but they have something to say on their own. That is a small group of wines, but those best examples take you beyond something functional and forgettable into something that has broader applications.

Some years ago we ran across Soalheiro from the northernmost point of Portugal, quite near Galicia in fact, clearly a winery that took their business a lot more seriously than most. It was evident they were working to infuse much more character in their wines. Our first experience with them was an Alvarinho (what the Portuguese call Albarino) some years ago. It was one of the best ‘Alvarinhos’ we had ever had outside of Spain.

By comparison, and we’re presuming it has something to do with the more inland vineyard location, the Portuguese model shows a little less salinity but a touch more of a floral and honeyed aspect. Absolutely delicious and lifted, the Soalheiro Alvarinho Vinho Verde 2017 functions like a deluxe version of the genre and takes it to a new level.

Wine Advocate says of this perennial winner, “The 2017 Alvarinho is dry…colloquially known as the “classico,” the flagship unoaked Alvarinho, is typically one of the finest values in Vinho Verde. It ages effortlessly. It’s concentrated and structured. Plus, with 100,000 bottles produced, there’s enough of it to make it a little easier to acquire than some specialty bottlings. Sourced from 25-year-old vines, this shows off that bit of “Soalheiro Green,” as I like to call it, then adds a big finish and a concentrated mid-palate to accompany the herbs. Ripe, fruity and surprisingly accessible this year, this shows very well from the get-go… 92 Points!”

We were also quite excited with this new (to us anyway) value offering from Soalheiro, both made and priced like other Vinho Verdes. This one is a blend of Alvarinho and Louriero grown in granite soils and harvested by hand into small crates. Cold nights, slow fermentation in stainless steel, this is a lively, crisp, perhaps more casual offering but, again, a joy in the glass. Good notes from Advocate on the Soalheiro Allo Vinho Verde 2017 as well, “This is another punch-above-your-weight wine from Vinho Verde in general and Soalheiro in particular. It’s not quite as deep as the monovarietal Alvarinho, but it has fine concentration for an inexpensive blend nonetheless. Plus, there’s that little bit extra in those other areas—flavor and aromatics. Then, there’s the acidity… 91 Points.”

The category provides an outstanding choice for aperitif and lighter cuisine (particularly shellfish) during the warmer times of the year. The Soalheiro has been a star around here for some time, the ‘Allo’ clearly destined to be one.

‘FRESH & EASY’ PORTUGUESE WHITES

We have followed Portuguese whites for some time. Frankly for much of that period, they were little more than utilitarian. They weren’t necessarily intended for great heights, so comparing them to ‘grand vin’ is kind of pointless. They were, for the most part, simply ‘white and wet’.

Over the last half-dozen years or so, however, we have started to see some new faces that take their business more seriously. They keep the wines clean and fresh. They don’t over crop. And the wines have fruit along with their brisk acidity. Lately we find ourselves reaching for these a lot more often, and the newest versions of two of our favorites have hit the floor just in time.

The ‘official’ drink me by-the-sea wine of Portugal is called Vinho Verde, which translates into ‘green wine’. These are intended to be consumed young and bright, but for the most part are not necessarily compelling. A couple of years ago we discovered this producer, and have looked for this bottling every year since. The Arca Nova Vinho Verde 2016 is a compelling go-to again, all of that crisp quaffability but also corresponding fruit and flavor interest that you don’t find in too many Vinho Verdes.

Dubbed one of the official Winex ‘house whites’, there’s texture to the lime/apple fruit and a feeling of substance to go along with the expected zing and delicate mineral notes. Fermentation occurs at low temperatures in stainless steel vats, preserving the wine’s jump-out-of-the-glass verve and keeping a little CO2 in the mix to give it a little hint of spritz taking the whole experience up a couple of notches! It’s a steal at this price so ‘don’t fear the deal’ and it zips nicely with the lighter fare of summer. You may not know the grapes (Loureiro 50%, Arinto 40%, and Treixadura 10%), but this one performs in the glass where it matters.

Another of our old favorites, and arguably a wine whose earlier versions sent us the message that there was something going on in Portugal, is the Soalheiro Alvarinho Vinho Verde 2016. The grape here is a bit more familiar (Alvarinho is what the Portuguese call Albariño), and Soalheiro can compete with Spain’s best versions. Yellow melon, lime, kiwi, a wisp of salinity, this is another superb performer with a bit more power and substance and, of course, plenty of sizzle.

A Wine Advocate 92 for Soalheiro (not bad for a ‘little’ Portuguese white), the descriptive notes ring true, “This shows all the hallmarks of Soalheiro, fresh, clean and lively. It is a pointed wine that seems a bit on the lean side, but it is very tightly wound, utterly gripping on the juicy finish and perfectly focused…Don’t drink it too cold—if you do, the power just takes over. If you like them crisp and dry, with that laser-like burst of acidity, this is an easy choice at a nice price.”

The Iberian Peninsula is rocking this summer with whites…