If you appreciate new sensations and stellar quality-for-price, keep a keen eye on the wines coming out of Portugal—this is the rising-star wine nation of the moment, and today’s wine epitomizes everything that’s exciting about it. The culture and the aptitude has always been there, of course—the Douro Valley is thought to be the world’s first officially delimited wine appellation—but what we’re seeing now is a rising tide of investment and quality across the board, including the southerly Alentejo region.
The Alentejo is known not just for a string of spectacular beaches along its coast but a vast swath of agricultural land devoted not just to viticulture but to wheat, olives, and so much else (only about 5% of the region is planted to vines). Like similarly warm, arid landscapes elsewhere in the world, Alentejo is naturally predisposed to produce delicious, consistent wine at scale. But the couple behind Herdade do Rocim are trying to take Alentejo wine to another level—and if the consistent flow of favorable press for their wines is any indication, they’re doing it. They’ve certainly done so with this Alvarinho, which offers a completely new and thrilling look at a Portuguese/Spanish classic. This is not Vinho Verde, with its Riesling-esque leanness and salty tang; this is a considerably more structured, substantially weightier take on the variety—a melding of the freshness and mineral grip of top-tier Rías Baixas Albariño with the textural richness of Premier Cru Chassagne-Montrachet. The SommSelect crew did a double-take upon tasting this 2017: Alvarinho from the Alentejo? Honestly, we were expecting simple refreshment. Instead we got an entirely new perspective on a classic variety and a serious one at that. It is a game-changer, and a great example of Portugal’s dynamism. I’m telling you, this is the place to be!
Herdade do Rocim was founded in 2000 by the late Jose Vieira, whose daughter, Catarina, now heads up the estate. Located in the “lower” Alentejo, within the Vidigueira subzone, the estate covers a total of 120 hectares, 70 of which are under vine, feeding a stunning modern winery reminiscent of Napa Valley’s Dominus Estate. The region is the most southerly of the Alentejo growing zones and is largely defined by a large fault line that runs east-west for about 50 kilometers, with soils composed mostly of decomposed granite and schist. The presence of the fault helps temper the hot, dry climate, which, combined with the poor soil, allows for wines that are rich but also mineral and fresh.
And that is really the story of this Alvarinho in a nutshell: It’s probably the most textured, high-impact expression of the variety I’ve ever tried, and at the same time, there’s still a varietal thread connecting it to the coastal versions of Vinho Verde and Rías Baixas. I don’t make comparisons to white Burgundy lightly, but the combination of structure and freshness on display here absolutely merits one.
Rocim’s 2017 was fermented and aged in stainless steel only, giving its ample fruit and minerality an opportunity to shine brightly. The wine displays a yellow-gold core moving to green and silver at the rim, with heady aromas of white peach, green mango, melon, salted lemon, green herbs, sea salt, white flowers, and wet stones. It has a generous, almost viscous feel on the mid-palate before a crisp, lip-smacking wave of freshness rolls in. The price-to-quality here is simply fantastic: Not only is it delicious now but it should drink well over the next few years—not that I’ll be waiting. Pull the cork about 15 minutes before serving at 45-50 degrees in all-purpose white wine stems with a beautiful piece of grilled fish and maybe some sautéed spinach. This wine mingling with some lemony/buttery pan juices is just what the doctor ordered for me. Don’t miss this!
