Anselmo Mendes is one of Portugal most highly sought-after winemaking consultants and the benchmark producer in Portugal’s Vinho Verde zone. Mendes’s 2020 Alvarinho Contacto, Alvarinho (a.k.a. Albariño) grown in the Monção district’s Quinta da Torre, is given extended skin contact to coax greater depth, character, and intensity from the usually delicate Vinho Verde. Dazzlingly aromatic, the 2020 Contacto greets the palate with a riveting kernel of Anjou pear, Mirabelle plum, and Seville orange fruit accented by overtones of kombu, wintergreen, and tarragon. Bristling acidity and a smoky granitic mineral undercurrent drive the wine’s brilliant citrus and orchard-fruited core, segueing it to a crystalline, saline-tinged finish. Notes of bitter orange, tangerine, white grapefruit, and lemon juice linger long after the wine leaves the palate. Enjoy with gusto now and over the coming five years with traditional and vegetarian paellas, vegetable and seafood tapas, sushi and sashimi, light white-fleshed fish preparations, and seafood pastas. Mendes’s Alvarinho is undoubtedly among Iberia’s greatest and most distinctive white wines, and it’s a steal for its tariff.
Sustainably Farmed
