Luis Seabra Vinhos Xisto Ilimitado Douro Branco 2024

Luis Seabra Vinhos Xisto Ilimitado Douro Branco 2024

Luís Seabra was born into a coffee farming family in Angola and returned to Portugal in the 1970s. Although he did not grow up in a winemaking environment, his father’s family is originally from Douro, which is where Luís has made his mark as a champion of terroir-driven winemaking. He studied viticulture at the university in Vila Real, in the Alto Douro region of northern Portugal. After graduation he spent some time as a teacher, but his boundless curiosity quickly led him to work in soil research and later for one of the large cooperatives in Vinho Verde. Most famously, Luís launched a revolutionary still wine program in 2004 while working at Niepoort, upending 300 years of tradition that kept Douro entrenched in the world of fortified wines, with very few exceptions.

Compared to his neighbors, Seabra takes a “micro” approach, working with just 8 hectares total across three regions: Douro, Vinho Verde and Dao. Because of his experience working for a large cooperative in Vinho Verde, he has the unique ability to see that the vineyards desirable for uniform, commodity wines are the opposite of what he needs. Instead, he favors old—often extremely challenging! —vineyards to produce wines of character. He has developed a sixth sense around finding these remote, high-altitude vineyards, saying “You look at them and you just know that anything you do from that site is going to be great.” These demanding sites give new meaning to “off the beaten track”—a vast understatement for vineyards that require leaving your car by the side of the road and descending treacherous slopes to access!

Seabra rents vineyards from growers the way the locals always have, with a handshake and goodwill. In some—namely, all the Cru sites—he and his team farm directly. Wherever he has viticultural control, Seabra practices “common sense” agriculture, avoiding chemical treatments unless it would mean the loss of an entire vineyard to disease.

60% Rabigato, 15% Gouveio, 15% Códega, 10% Viosinho. 30-45 year old vines, planted to mica schist at 500-600 m. 90% fermented in used barrel; 10% fermented in stainless steel. All indigenous wild yeast fermentation. Aged in 90% used barrel and 10% stainless steel with one year of lees contact with no battonage.

Incredibly flinty with river pebbles, clear honey, wax and preserved lemon and a decidedly saline lick aromatically – this is lovely and exuberant through the mid palate, with ample texture, pear drops, white florals, fleshy and delicious leading to a commanding tensile and precise finish, all chalky and stony, with a finale of tonic bitters and pith right at the back. Excellent.

'The full clusters were pressed, the juice let to settle and then fermented with indigenous yeasts and without temperature control. The wine matured with full lees in 228- and 500-liter barrels and 30% in stainless steel. It didn't have any bâtonnage and went through full malolactic fermentation. It follows the path of freshness of the 2023, clean and precise, with a serious palate with a stony sensation. It has contained ripeness, 12.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.38 and 5.3 grams of acidity and a balanced mouthfeel with very good freshness and acidity.' 92+ Points - Luis Gutierrez, Wine Advocate

Stone fruit and minerality on the nose. Zesty citrus and pear on the palate. Good concentration in the midpalate. Very fresh and drinkable, with a satisfying richness. Light to medium body. Drink now. 94 Points - JamesSuckling.com

Apple, pear, white peach, almond meal, a sea salt thing, with a little smoky candle wax. It has something of a Chardonnay weight to it, a little smoky again, distinctly saline, a bit nutty, powdery in texture, lemon oil and floral perfume, with a green olive finish of excellent length. Lovely wine. 93 Points - Gary Walsh, The Wine Front