Soalheiro Granit 2019
Region: Vinho Verde
Producer: Soalheiro
In the region of Monção and Melgaço, hot days alternate with cold nights, which allows to keep fresh and fruity aromas with a present but moderate acidity, as we like it for the Alvarinho.
| Volume | 75.0 cl. |
| Grape Variety | Alvarinho |
| Drinking window | 2020-2030 |
| Alc. | 12.5% |
| Vinification | After pressing and before fermentation at controlled temperature, the must is decanted for 48 hours. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks at a higher temperature than the usual white wines. |
| Ripening | It is stirred and aged on fine lees in stainless steel. |
Waar serveer je ’m bij?
The same high plots above Melgaço, but with seven years in bottle behind it, and without oak to flatten it out. That is rare: an Alvarinho that has grown old purely on its acidity and its minerality. The fruit has pulled towards dried citrus peel and honey, there is a petrol-like, almost Riesling note alongside it, and the finish is longer than in the young vintage. Anyone who thinks Vinho Verde has to be drunk young should be handed this glass blind.
Pan-fried cod tongues with pancetta
Linguine with crab and lemon
Serveren op 11–13 °C
Drink: 2020–2032
“The 2019 Alvarinho "Granit" is an unoaked Alvarinho. It is very dry (one gram of sugar and 6.6 grams of total acidity) and comes in at 13% alcohol. Sourced from vines at over 300 meters in altitude, the goal here is to be dry and crisp. Well, yeah. This never projects as much fruitiness and depth as the regular (or, as they call it, "classico") Alvarinho, but it has stones in evidence and plenty of power. Nervy, tense and tongue-tingling at times, this is a big boy in terms of structure. It is pointed and focused. It is probably the best since the 2015, granted that they are not all here together at the same time. It is also a year where I might like this as much as the Classico, which I usually prefer. I wonder, in fact, if this is the best Granit yet. This is a fine value if you like them a little austere, precise and energetic. Don't misunderstand, though—the next day it was very expressive, showing beautiful fruit as well. You can drink this young, but you'll be better off drinking it next year. It will hold for a decade or so, maybe quite a bit more.”
In 1982, the Cerdeira family was the first to rejoin the tradition of quality wines based on the local Alvarinho grape. João Antonio Cerdeira planted the first vines to that end in 1974, and it is those old vines that still provide the grapes for the top cuvée 'Primeiras Vinhas' today.
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