Soalheiro’s “Granit” Alvarinho is grown 300m elevation in — wait for it — granite soils. The fruit was hand harvested into small bins, pressed, and fermented in stainless steel. The wine receives bâtonnage during aging. It’s a quiet wine at first, yielding aromas of lemon peel and pith, laurel and stone. The palate has a distinct salinity that reads as a steely note, very mineral, like licking a cold spoon. It has acquired some heft from the lees aging. Overall this feels like a more serious, more chiseled, wine than the winery’s standard Alvarinho. Pair it with almost anything from the sea.
2019 Soalheiro Alvarinho Granit Vinho Verde Monção e Melgaço
13% abv | $23 (sample); imported by Independence Wine & Spirits
