Vinho Verde vertical: aged Alvarinhos from Quinta de Soalheiro

The clue is in the name. Reflecting the place and the people behind the label, ‘Soalheiro’ is Portuguese for ‘sunny’. Inland and protected from Atlantic influence by a range of mountains, Alvarinho – Portugal’s leading white grape – thrives in Vinho Verde’s warm, dry Monção e Melgaço sub-region, just south of Galicia, Spain.

Fifty producers (and many more growers) account for 70% of Portugal’s Alvarinho plantings, according to Quinta de Soalheiro’s genial chief winemaker, António Luís Cerdeira (‘Luís’), who is proud of Monção e Melgaço’s special microclimate. Although, he observes: ‘Our terroir is warmer, less humid than Rías Baixas [on the opposite bank of the Minho river, in Spain, where the grape is called Albariño], our wines are fruitier and fresher, because we don’t need to do the malolactic fermentation.’

As I discovered during my first visit to the quinta in 2009, these qualities allow for impressive evolution in bottle. Luís neatly describes the wines as ‘very elastic on age’, since they show beautiful primary fruit, then delicious tertiary honey, curd and toast notes at around the five-year mark. The similarity to museum release (unoaked) Australian Riesling or Hunter Valley Semillon is striking. 

Soalheiro pioneered this style in Melgaço where, traditionally, vines were planted around field edges. In 1974 Luís’ father, João António Cerdeira, planted Melgaço’s first continuous rows of Alvarinho on granitic slopes, overlooking the Minho river. Launching Soalheiro Alvarinho in 1982, the tax collector and self-taught vigneron became Monção e Melgaço’s fourth producer. 

The apple didn’t fall far from the tree in the case of Luís and his equally dynamic sister, Maria João Cerdeira, who manages the vineyards. Pushing the boundaries for vines and wines, this year Soalheiro became Portugal’s first wine producer with RDI (Research, Development and Innovation) certification.

Vines and wines

Today, Soalheiro has 10ha in production (up from 4ha) and oversees another 80ha cultivated by partner growers. Certified organic, the family’s vineyards include a precocious parcel of ‘pe franco’ (un-grafted), shy-bearing vines which, planted in 2010, already contributes to the Primeiras Vinhas bottling (otherwise made from the oldest vines). 

Recently, the Cerdeiras planted another 5ha vineyard in Monção which, being the warmer valley, is expected to be earlier-ripening. With climate change in mind, at the other extreme, the family has also planted 2ha on schist at extreme elevation (1,100m). 

The obsession with Alvarinho continues in the cellar, where Luís, who studied oenology in Portugal and Burgundy, makes Alvarinho every which way, building on the classic unoaked original. A total of 16 cuvées, sourced from vineyards between 100m to 400m, range from still, sparkling and aguardente (brandy), with dry, medium-dry, unoaked, oaked, cement egg, amphora, no added sulphites and blended options. Alvarinho even features in Soalheiro’s rosé and red wines.

Whether by site or technique, Luís excels at teasing out different nuances from Alvarinho, whilst retaining core freshness and fruit power. With touches of malolactic fermentation (Terramatter), new oak (the Reserva) or no added sulphites, the more outré examples broaden Alvarinho’s food-matching possibilities. The classic unoaked Alvarinho (made with estate and grower grapes) and Primeiras Vinhas (first made in 2006) are wines to enjoy on their own, or with classic seafood matches. 

When Primeiras Vinhas is almost twice the price, my neck-and-neck scores (see below) might suggest that the original is best, but they are simply different. Naturally fermented, with around 15% barrel-fermented and aged in seasoned oak barrels and cask, Primeiras Vinhas is more refined, with a seamless structure and (subtle) savoury complexity. The micro-oxygenation in barrel means it also evolves a little faster and, says Luís: ‘In warm years, you feel more difference’.

As this tasting revealed, top vintages of Primeiras Vinhas can last over a decade. Based on previous verticals, at 15 years old, the best classics offer great pleasure. Still with tension, it is very elastic in this sense too. 

Aged Alvarinhos to try from Quinta de Soalheiro

See also: Alvarinho Vs Albariño: Top wines from Portugal and Spain rated