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Walls of Melgaço White Alvarinho 2023

Anselmo Mendes
Year
€16.40 €18.20
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93 points Robert Parker

The Wine Advocate
RP 93
Luis Gutierrez: 1998 was the first harvest of this wine, the result of 10 years of experimentation: fermenting Alvarinho in barrels of different sizes, origins and ages, with more or less lees. The Alvarinho Muros de Melgaço 2023 has the same origin as Muros Antigos, their first property in Melgaço, a selection of the best balanced grapes, from vines over 30 years old, all grown on terraces (hence the "walls" that support the terraces). The purpose of fermenting in barrels (400 liters) was not to impart aromas or flavors to the wine, but rather the indirect effect, micro-oxygenation, and also that it could keep all the lees in the barrels, due to their size, and a slow exchange of oxygen with the wine. He doesn't want vanilla or coconut in the wine, and there is (almost) no aromatic effect from the wood, resulting in a pure, varietal wine, with floral notes, more aromatic complexity due to the longer élevage — six months in barrel and one time in bottle.

2023 was a warmer year than 2024. The wine has 12.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.4 and 6.3 grams of acidity, with the austere, chalky texture of the granite soils clearly revealed, especially as the wine warms in the glass, maintaining its freshness. A total of 25,000 bottles were produced. The wine was bottled in March 2024.

I had 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 was impressed.

In 2023, the harvest was at the end of August, but in 2024 they started harvesting Alvarinho 15 days later, from mid-September, making a big difference, allowing for a slower ripening of the grapes in 2024. The difference was in the variation in temperature between day and night in September, which caused a longer cycle, favoring the development of more aromas and flavors in the grapes.

Published: March 27, 2025
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