2023 Luis Seabra, Xisto Cru Branco, Douro, Portugal.
One of my favorite white wines of the year so far, built like a top white Burgundy, so delicious, serious and totally a wine geek’s thriller, is this Luis Seabra Xisto Cru Branco, a mixed varietal cuvée, from the Douro region of Portugal. This pale gold/straw hued white is quite reductive, like a Puligny-Montrachet, and loaded with mineral intensity as wells full of precise tension on the complex and concentrated palate, showing an array of citrus and stone fruits, a touch of exotic spices, liquid rock and delicate white flowers. This 2023 builds its textural pleasure slowly in the glass and gives a focused layering of white peach, lemon/lime, pineapple and tangy quince, along with hints of hazelnut, wet stone, dried ginger, clove and honeysuckle.This beautifully balanced 2023 Xisto Cru Branco, which is sourced from a 90-year-old vines, planted with a 70 % Rabigato field blend, with 30% other grapes, including Códega, Gouveio and Donzelinho Branco, all from the village of Mêda at 750 meters above sea level, which sees a good cooling influence at night. The hand picked and sorted grape clusters were all de-stemmed and crushed before pressing and then the juice was cold settled for close to 48 hours, then spontaneously fermented, slowly and cool, in used 228-liter French oak barrels, aged sur lie on the yeast without bâtonnage (no stirring) for 12 months before bottling.
When you look at Portuguese wine, it’s people like Luís Seabra, who have rebels, and been at the center of a cultural shift in Portuguese winemaking, leading a movement of young, independent winemakers into a new and exciting future, as this exceptional Xisto Cru white shows. Luis Seabra’s US importer, Chambers & Chambers, says after many years of working for others, the time came in 2013 for Luis Seabra to carve his own path, thus giving birth to Luis Seabra Vinhos. The mission of this winery is to create wines that narrate the story of their origin, crafted with a philosophy of minimal intervention, respecting their inherent nature and character. The aspiration is for their wines to reflect the diverse soils where the vineyards are planted, the varying altitudes and exposures, their distinctions, and resemblances. Luis Seabra, Chambers & Chambers adds, is driven by a desire to create wines he enjoys drinking. His winemaking philosophy is centered on balance and minimalism, with a focus on creating wines that age well and evolve in the bottle. For white wines, he prefers a balanced spectrum of flavors and acidity, achieved by harvesting all varieties at once and fermenting them spontaneously over several months. He values minerality and texture over flashy primary fruit, all of which you can see here! Again, I need to thank my friend and seller of fine wines, Alex Lallos, of No Limits Fine Wines, for breaking this truly unique native varietal white blend out of his own cellar for us, it was absolutely stunning, especially with the starter course and soft artisan cheeses.
($79 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive