Muros de Melgaço 2023
Region: Vinho Verde
Producer: Anselmo Mendes
The nose is marked by minerality and citrus notes. In the mouth it is persistent and structured, but the juiciness it presents with the acidity makes it elegant. Light vanilla offers creaminess.
| Volume | 75.0 cl. |
| Grape Variety | Alvarinho |
| Drinking window | 2024-2028 |
| Alc. | 12.5% |
| Vinification | In French oak barrels |
| Ripening | In French oak barrels |
Waar serveer je ’m bij?
The grapes come exclusively from Melgaço, from south-facing hillsides, and in this cool region that is the difference between ripe and just not ripe. A higher degree of ripeness, then, and with it fermentation and ageing in oak barrels. Those two choices make Alvarinho into something other than the fresh entry-level wines: more yellow fruit, more weight in the mouth, a toasted undertone and a finish that lingers. A Vinho Verde that can take a place at the main table.
Pan-fried hake with peas and bacon
Pasta with lemon, ricotta and basil
Serveren op 10–12 °C
Drink: 2025–2031
“1998 was the first vintage of this wine, the result of 10 years of experimentation: fermenting Alvarinho in barrels, different sizes, different origins and ages and more or less lees. The 2023 Alvarinho Muros de Melgaço has the same origin as Muros Antigos, their first property in Melgaço, a selection of the grapes with better balance, vines of over 30 years of age, all grown on terraces (hence the "muros," or "walls," that support the terraces). The objective of fermenting in barrel (400-liter ones) was not to give the wine aromas or flavors, but because of the indirect effect, the micro-oxygenation, and also the fact that you can have the full lees in the barrels, because of the size, and a slow exchange of oxygen in the wine. He doesn't want vanilla or coconut in the wine, and there's (almost) no aromatic effect of the oak in the wine, which comes through as pure and varietal, with floral notes, more aromatic complexity because of the longer élevage, six months in barrel and the time in bottle. 2023 was a warmer year than 2024. The wine has 12.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.4 and 6.3 grams of acidity, with the austere, chalky texture from the granite soils that come through clearly, especially as the wine warms up in the glass, and the wine keeps the freshness. 25,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2024.”
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 →