A Wine Review and Tasting Note
4/5 Stars
Conde Villar Vinho Verde Loureiro 2014 on Vivino
Best Vino Verde I have ever had! We had the pleasure of tasting this in our WSET 3 class last night, and it had me longing for a hot summer day. There are few wines on market at this price point of under $20 that are as enjoyable.
I must admit that Vinho Verde is not a wine that I typically think to pick up very often, but this one made me change my mind! I had found too many of these to be a little flat on flavour characters, and a little too 2 Dimensional, but not this one! If you like wines like Sauvignon Blanc, Soave, Gavi, Pinot Grigio… you will enjoy this.
Tasting Notes:
Clear pale lemon green, with a fresh dose of CO2 in this 2015. Clean medium youthful nose of peach, blossom, grass, honeysuckle, red apple, and a hint of banana. Off dry on the palate with medium acidity, medium (- ) body, medium ( – ) alcohol, medium intensity of flavours, and a medium finish that opens up more flavours of mineral, neutral fruit, and a green undertone. Great quality for the varietal, drink now as it is already at it’s best!
A little info on Vinho Verde:
Vinho Verde in not a grape, or a blend – it is a region. That region, in the North West corner of Portugal, reliably produces a white blended wine from native grape varieties such as Loureiro, Arnito (locally known as Pederna), Trajadura, Avesso and Azal. The grapes are grown in a maritime climate that sees cool Atlantic winds and significant annual rainfall. Because of this many vintages see high cool climate acidity, and lower levels of sugar at ripeness. Consequently the white wines often show low to medium alcohol, have refreshing acidity, green fruit character, no oak and a nice minerality from shallow granite soils. These factors together make it a classic companion to fresh shellfish. I only wish I had raw oysters, or a giant bowl of mussels steamed in white wine to go with it! These wines typically have a slight carbonation to them due to a small dose of CO2, though they are not carbonated enough to be considered sparkling. This slight petulance makes it a great option for cutting through say… drawn butter for that shellfish.
VineLife 