Soalheiro Alvarinho has a bright, lemon-yellow colour. This wine is distinguished by its fresh and elegant fragrance, revealing the aromatic complexity of Alvarinho variety. The flavour has intense tropical and mineral notes that balance perfectly with the acidity and moderate alcohol content.
Soalheiro Alvarinho has the elegance to make an excellent apéritif and complement lighter flavoured dishes. It pairs well with foods such as seafood, grilled fish, white meats, mature cheeses, smoked meats or Asian and Mediterranean gastronomies.
Monção and Melgaço, the most northern region of Portugal, is protected by mountains that form a unique microclimate. This allows a perfect marriage between rainfall, temperature and the number of hours of sunshine needed for the best maturation of Alvarinho grapes. The microclimate in Monção and Melgaço is especially important during ripening, when hot days alternate with cold nights, enabling the development of fresh and fruity aromas and an acidity that is present, but moderate.
"Full bottle 1,017 g. Fermented in tank and matured on fine lees. TA 6.7 g/l, pH 3.1.
Invitingly fragrant with stone fruit and citrus and a light floral note, this part of the region giving fruit that reminds me of apricots even with only 12.5% alcohol and refreshingly high acidity – thanks to the sunny mesoclimate. The lees ageing has given a roundness in the mouth that balances the acidity. Soalheiro make many different Alvarinhos but this is called their 'classic' and for very good reasons. Bright, pure and with the potential for long ageing, as the 2017 just tasted demonstrates. In addition to the roundness, there is a slight friction in the texture that adds another layer to this wine – more than just lovely fruit. Long finish with a touch of spice. Drink to 2032."
17 points.
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com, (March 2025)
"The extremely young classical 2024 Alvarinho felt very reductive after the very recent bottling, and it remained difficult to read even after a couple of hours in the glass. This was the first wine produced by the family back in 1982, a varietal with floral aromas and good ripeness and freshness, noted by 12.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.17 coupled with 6.4 grams of acidity. Here, they don't do skin contact or malolactic, as they're trying to keep the purity and freshness, and they ferment it with neutral yeasts and keep it unoaked with lees for at least two months. All their wines have the dry granite finish, even the entry-level ones. 385,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2025. In my experience, this wine is much better with a little time in bottle. I'd wait at least until next year to pull the cork. Drink to 2031."
91 points.
Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate (March 2025)
"Our Portuguese panel has been alive to the vibe from Moncão et Melgaço in Vinho Verde for some years now (with a Best in Show in our 2021 competition), so it was gratifying to see this benchmark example cruise its way back into this year's selection. 'Green' is often an insult in winemaking terms, but in Portugal's granite-soiled Vinho Verde ('green wine') region, it's a prerequisite. The joy of Alvarinho, of course, is that it adds an extra aromatic note of floral charm here (apricots are more typical in Galicia), so your journey into the wine is as much journey into flower garden as it is forest glade. The palate is impressive: there's nothing slender or shivering about it, nor does it rely on sweet tweaks. Instead, it's svelte and textured, with density to match the wine's natural drive and freshness. Its 12.5% is low enough to make it a white to drink, not to sip… with or without food. This wine would make both a quenching aperitif and a perfect summer-salad white."
97 points and 'Best in Show'
Decanter World Wine Awards 2025.
