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Alvarinho Parcela Unica (3l) 2018
Region: From the treasure room
Producer: Anselmo Mendes
Why we chose this wine
Anselmo Mendes is undoubtedly the reference for the best Alvarinho. Great vintages can develop great complexity after a few years in the cellar.
The grapes are grown only in Monção and Melgaço, the vines grow on sunny slopes on poor granitic soils, this gives very mineral wines with body and structure while retaining a lot of freshness.
Produced by the "pope" of Vinho Verde and one of his best winemakers Anselmo Mendes. Parcela Unica is without a doubt the great wine of his range, and also one of the great whites of the country. It is only produced in the best years, when Anselmo believes that the vintage will produce an exceptional wine.
For years, Anselmo has been vinifying the grapes from the most promising plots in separate batches. Year after year, one plot proved to be systematically superior to the rest and with the harvest. In 2009, Anselmo decided to bottle this plot separately for the first time. With Parcela Unica, he has reached a high point in the history of the best Alvarinhos. Since then, he has been marketing a rigorous selection of less than 3,000 bottles only in exceptional years.
On the nose, this cuvée develops a great aromatic richness where notes of honey, salted butter and candied citrus fruit predominate. Very mineral, it offers fat and liveliness on the palate, accompanied by great purity as well as saline and iodine notes.
The grapes are grown only in Monção and Melgaço, the vines grow on sunny slopes on poor granitic soils, this gives very mineral wines with body and structure while retaining a lot of freshness.
Produced by the "pope" of Vinho Verde and one of his best winemakers Anselmo Mendes. Parcela Unica is without a doubt the great wine of his range, and also one of the great whites of the country. It is only produced in the best years, when Anselmo believes that the vintage will produce an exceptional wine.
For years, Anselmo has been vinifying the grapes from the most promising plots in separate batches. Year after year, one plot proved to be systematically superior to the rest and with the harvest. In 2009, Anselmo decided to bottle this plot separately for the first time. With Parcela Unica, he has reached a high point in the history of the best Alvarinhos. Since then, he has been marketing a rigorous selection of less than 3,000 bottles only in exceptional years.
On the nose, this cuvée develops a great aromatic richness where notes of honey, salted butter and candied citrus fruit predominate. Very mineral, it offers fat and liveliness on the palate, accompanied by great purity as well as saline and iodine notes.
| Volume | 300.0 cl. |
| Grape Variety | Alvarinho |
| Drinking window | 2020-2028 |
| Alc. | 13.0% |
| Vinification | Gentle pressing of the totally de-stemmed bunches, long cold clarification, fermentation in new 400-litre French oak barrels. |
| Ripening | Aged in the same barrels for 9 months with stirring on the lees. |
Waar serveer je ’m bij?
The same best plot as the recent vintages, but eight years further on and in a double magnum. That format does something: the bigger the bottle, the less oxygen per litre of wine, and the slower the ageing. The fruit has by now shifted towards dried apricot and honey, with a waxy texture and the oak entirely absorbed. Three litres also asks for a table: twenty glasses out of one bottle, around one dish in the middle.
Drie gerechten die werken
Cod with a crust of almond and bread
Pan-fried John Dory with roasted fennel
Mountain cheese with nuts and honey
Pan-fried John Dory with roasted fennel
Mountain cheese with nuts and honey
Vegetarisch
Grilled celeriac with hazelnut butter
Minder geschikt bij
Sharp, cold and spicy dishes. And do not open it for four people: three litres left open for a day lose exactly the layer you bought it for.
Voor de Portugees geïnspireerde kok
Bacalhau cozido com grelos e azeite — boiled cod with turnip tops and plenty of olive oil, the Christmas plate of the north
Serveren op 12–14 °C
What the critics say
Robert Parker Wine Advocate
93/ 100
Published 30-06-2021
Drink: 2021–2033
Drink: 2021–2033
“The 2018 Parcela Única is an Alvarinho aged for nine months in new French oak. It comes in at 12.9% alcohol, with less than 1.5 grams of residual sugar and seven of total acidity. If I had to pick just one of the upper level this issue, it would probably be this. The oak is under surprisingly good control (not that you can't find it). It seems almost delicate next to the Curtimenta, even though it has plenty of stuffing. In fact, this is remarkably elegant and refined in its overall presentation. It has a very bright and very fresh feel to it. It is the type of wine you can keep sipping all night long without getting tired of it. If it can develop more with age, it will be special. Not that it is so bad now.”
— Mark Squires, Robert Parker Wine Advocate
The producer
Anselmo Mendes
We were there when Anselmo launched his first wines under his own name and we are still following him. Meanwhile, he grew to become 'mister Alvarinho'.
More about Anselmo Mendes →