Luis Seabra Granito Cru Alvarinho 2021
$72.00 inc. GST
After a decade as winemaker at Niepoort, where he was responsible for some of the best known and highest rated wines to come out of the famed Douro and Porto producer, Luis Seabra decided that he no longer wanted to make wines to someone else’s tastes and specifications. Thus, he began his eponymous winery, and set about shattering preconceptions of what Douro wines represent.
The Granito Cru Alvarinho is one of a series of wines that Luis makes that exemplify and express the intensely terroir-driven style in which Luis operates. He is a particularly gifted winemaker, one who sees wine as a medium through which a piece of land can speak. “Cru” translates as “raw” in Portuguese, and the transmission of terroir here is unadulterated and singular. This series of wines is one in which he removes every variable but that of the land itself, and the stark expression of the soil that results is extraordinary. He works exclusively with spontaneous fermentation, native yeasts, and large format tight-grained oak for all the wines in this series.
Description
100% Alvarinho. Sustainbly grown vines planted in 1989. Tended in granite soil at 50-150 m (164-492ft) elevation. This is a vegan wine.
The pressing of destemmed and crushed grapes was done with no added sulfur and without maceration. The wine was decanted cold for 48 hours. The fermentation and aging took place in two used, oval vats of 1000 liters and a new oval vat of 2000 liters, all made from Eastern Europe Forrest oak. Fermentation was carried out during 4 months with full malolactic fermentation. Total ageing in the barrels took 9 months in the presence of lees without stirring them.
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.
Additional Information
| brand | Luis Seabra |
|---|---|
| size | 750ml |
Reviews/Ratings/Awards
Granito Cru Alvarinho 2019 Vinho Verde, Portugal
This is Seabra’s line of wines exploring grape (in this case Albariño) and terroir (the granite soils of Vinho Verde). This Alvarinho came from three plots of 25+ year old vines, rooted in the granitic soils of the village of Paderne, Melgaço. The destemmed fruit was native fermented and aged in used, oval 1000L and 2000L oval vats of eastern Europe oak. It remained there, with no sulphur, for 12 months on lees, without bâtonnage, prior to a 5 month stint in stainless before bottling. Hay and straw lead into a streamlined palate of tight lemon, green pear, verbena, wild mint, and ample granitic buzzing salinity that lingers far beyond the wine. There is a gentle pad of lees on the core to cushion, and counter the citrus tightness. Lovely energy and freshness here. 92/100 wineanorak
