QUINTA DO AMEAL LOUREIRO

Description

Finding mono-varietal Vinho Verde is tricky on its own, much less finding one that spends 7 months in stainless tanks aging on fine lees. As one might expect from the vinification, the piercing acidity and slight effervescence of typical Vinho Verde is instead supplanted by a pleasant, rounded acidity, a myriad of more delicate perfumed notes, fresh citrus, and a touch of sea salt. 

The estate of Quinta do Ameal sits in the Lima valley within the Minho region of Portugal, which is to say that it’s as far north in Portugal as you can go before you hit the Minho river separating Portugal and the Galicia region of Spain. Their Loureiro grapes sit in granite/schist parcels closer to the ocean, and thus benefit from cool breezes that flow into the valley and keep the growing conditions very moderate. This wine is definitely light and refreshing, but not in the way a Vinho Verde usually is; rather, it is refreshing in a Chablis sort of way, which is intriguing, but very welcome.