Soalheiro Alvarinho 2025

Soalheiro is one of the reference Alvarinho wines of the DOC Vinho Verde, made by Quinta de Soalheiro in Melgaço, in the far north of the Minho. The winery was founded in 1982 and was among the first in Portugal to bottle a varietal Alvarinho. Its 14 hectares sit on the granite banks of the Minho river, sheltered by the surrounding mountains and farmed by ecological methods. The soils are granitic and free draining, and the Atlantic influenced, relatively warm pocket of Melgaço lets Alvarinho ripen more fully here than elsewhere in the region while keeping firm acidity. That balance of ripeness and freshness is the signature of the sub region. The wine is fermented cool in stainless steel to hold its aromatics and bottled young. The colour is a bright pale gold. The nose leads with stone fruit and white flowers, and the palate is fresh and finely built, carrying white peach, lemon and elderflower over a saline, mineral finish drawn from the granite. Serve it chilled, around 9 degrees.