Muros Antigos Vinho Verde Escolha 2016

Anselmo Mendes is the main man in Vinho Verde. He should just change his name to Vinho Verde. And his nickname could be Alvarinho. Vinho "Alvarinho" Verde. Why?? You demand to know, thumping your hand down on the table.

Well, he has spent his entire adult life working in Vinho Verde and the environs and has spent over 20 years studying the Alvarinho grape. The man loves the stuff. And what does this wine taste like then, you ask, your attention piqued... Well! It has a beautifully pure, aromatic nose, with flashes of stone fruits and fresh apples, with a long, bracing finish.

In 1997 Anselmo bought a small estate with vines in Melgaço and, following 10 years studying the Alvarinho grape, started making his first Alvarinho in 1998, in a traditional winery, with fermentation in oak barrels.

In 2008 he built a new winery, combining new technology with traditional methods. Now he produces five different Alvarinhos, from different terroirs and using different technologies. All these wines are made with Monção and are made in the Melgaço Region. Since 2005 he has produced wines from the Loureiro grape in the Lima Valley. Today he grows Avesso that he blends with Alvarinho and Loureiro together to make Vinho Verde.

Anselmo was born 50 years ago in Monção, Portugal. He is the oldest son of his family and followed the tradition established by his family, who dedicated their lives to agriculture and wine, over the generations. His passion for this land took him to study at the Institute of Agronomy in Lisbon, from where he graduated in 1987. In 1991 he graduated in oenology at the Catholic University of Porto. After a post in the Vinho Verde Regional Viticulture Committee, he worked for the Borges Wines Society in 1988. Three years later, Anselmobegan working with other producers, particularly in the production of white wines in the Douro.

This white is made with the best white grapes varieties in the Vinho Verde Region; Alvarinho (for structure and body), Loureiro (for aromatics) and Avesso (for acidity and minerality).

The grapes are de-stemmed and soft pressed before undergoing extreme cold must clarification (12C -16C temperature fermentation) and spending a minimum of four months on the fine lees.