TASTE
A scintillating wine, at once fleshy and intensely mineral, with notes of citrus fruit, apricot and honey, as well as white pepper and curry spice. Great texture and complexity from first impression through to the long, powerful finish.
FOOD PAIRING
Shellfish · Vegetarian · Appetizers and snacks
PRODUCER
Luis Seabra may be a new name on the Portuguese wine scene, but he has already had a hand in crafting some of the Douro’s most exciting wines, working as Dirk Niepoort’s right-hand man from 2004 until leaving to set up his own label in 2012. He is starting small, releasing two whites and one red, with a total production of just 5,000 bottles per wine. Winemaking is minimal-intervention, and the style very much reflects the concentration of care lavished by this experienced winemaker on his tiny output. Luis Seabra is certainly a name to watch, but has also hit the ground running with a stunning début.
VINEYARD
The grapes come from vines over twenty-five years old planted on granite soils. They are pergola and descendent-cordon trained, and produce low yields of around forty hectolitres per hectare. The grapes were hand- harvested on September 26th.
WINERY
The grapes were pressed without maceration, and fermented with natural yeast in oval Austrian oak casks: one new of 2,000 litres, and two older of 1,000 litres each. The wine was then aged on lees in those casks for nine months, with the majority going through natural malolactic fermentation. Minimal sulphur addition was made at bottling.
PRESS
“... This is one of those wines where I enjoy the aroma so much it is gorgeous even before you put it in your mouth. And the palate does not disappoint: creamy (thanks to big oak and lees and a slow ferment) and totally seductive but with clean freshness. Manages a terrific balancing act of softness, freshness and fragance. Utterly seductive and pretty good length, thanks to that slightly grainy texture married to the acidity. The finish is surprisingly gentle.” – 17/20, jancisrobinson.com