Anselmo Mendes Single Installment 2020/2021

The Wine Advocate
RP 95

Luis Gutiérrez: Parcela Única 2021 is an Alvarinho from a specific plot of Quinta da Torre – a 5.5-hectare property with more stones, a mix of alluvial and river terraces, from where the ripest bunches, those lowest on the vines, are also harvested. The wine fermented and aged in new 400-liter oak barrels with minimal toasting, where it remained in contact with the total lees for nine months.

The challenge here is to find oak that doesn’t overshadow the wine beyond a slight smoky note—and the wine doesn’t taste like wood. In fact, it’s closed and more reductive, which should indicate good bottle aging potential. This plot was chosen because it produces grapes with excellent acidity.

What I find here is a vibrant and precise wine, with purity of flavors and aromas, rich but fresh, and with a very long, stony/mineral finish. And again: it has no taste of wood! Bravo! 8,000 bottles were produced. The wine was bottled in June 2022.

I spent a fantastic hour and a half with Anselmo Mendes, between Porto and his Quinta da Torre, in Melgaço, and learned so much about Vinho Verde, Alvarinho and Loureiro that I could hardly believe it.

In 2023, the harvest took place at the end of August, but in 2024, the Alvarinho harvest began 15 days later, in mid-September, which made a big difference: slower ripening of the grapes. The difference was in the thermal amplitude between day and night in September, which caused a longer cycle — meaning greater development of aromas and flavors in the grapes.

Published: March 27, 2025.

Tasting Notes: 2020

Complex and austere nose. 'Hues' of wild flowers and hay together with a delicate minerality reminiscent of wet stone. Light hazelnut and vanilla from the fermentation and aging in barrels. On the palate, refreshing acidity and verticality stand out. Light smokiness with a long and elegant finish.