Reguengo de Melgaco Alvarinho Vinho Verde 2019
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Winemaker Notes
Fresh with an intense fruity character. Very mineral wine with notes of apple, plums and peach, combined with a dominant citrus-like profile. Well-structured, elegant and unctuous on the palate. Great balance between acidity and dryness/sweetness (though the wine has almost no residual sugar). A fantastic long and aromatic finish.
Pair with fish and seafood, as well as salads, fruit & white meats.
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Wine & Spirits
This 16th-century estate was originally in the hands of the Portuguese royal family; it is now a small hotel with a vineyard, planted by the Cardadeiro family after they purchased the property in the 1990s. Their 18.5 acres of alvarinho grow on granite sands above the Minho, producing consistently exceptional wine. The 2019 starts off with plump pear flavors, adding the astringent buzz of grape skins before the tension slowly opens to raciness. There’s smoke to it, like the buttery richness of smoked sable, cleared away by the salt and cucumber notes of the acidity, lasting on delicate layers of alvarinho savor.
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Wine Enthusiast
The wine is all fruit, freshness and bright acidity. Along with its great crispness and citrus flavors, the wine also has a tense minerality and zestiness that give a fine bite the aftertaste.
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Robert
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With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
A cheerful, translucid, lemon-yellow and slightly pétillant white wine, Vinho Verde literally means ‘green wine’ and is named after the northwest Portugese region from which it originates. The ‘green’ in the name refers to the youthful state in which the wines are customarily released and consumed, not the color of the wine.
It is typically a blend of various percentages of Alvarinho, Loureiro, Trajadura, and Pedernã (Arinto). Following initial alcoholic fermentation, a natural, secondary malolactic conversion in cask produces carbon dioxide, giving Vinho Verde its charmingly light sparkle.