Soalheiro Granit 2025

Quinta de Soalheiro is a small family winery in Melgaço, in the far north of Portugal's Vinho Verde region, and one of the country's leading names for Albariño. This bottling is single-variety Albariño grown on granite soils, the source of the wine's name, in a corner of Vinho Verde sheltered by mountains that gives a warmer, drier pocket than the region's damp average while keeping cool nights and high acidity. The granite subsoil is free-draining and lends a firm, stony minerality. The wine is made young and unoaked, fermented cool to protect the citrus and floral aromatics and bottled early to keep it fresh, so the glass shows the grape and the granite site directly, with no barrel influence. The colour is pale straw yellow with green tints. The nose leads with lemon and green apple, backed by white peach, white flowers and citrus peel. The palate is dry, crisp and light, with a mineral core and a clean, saline finish that reflects the granite ground. Serve well chilled at 8 to 10 degrees.