Luis Seabra, “Xisto Ilimitado” Douro Branco
Luis Seabra, “Xisto Ilimitado” Douro Branco

Luis Seabra, “Xisto Ilimitado” Douro Branco

Douro, Portugal 2021 (750mL)
Regular price$36.00
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Luis Seabra, “Xisto Ilimitado” Douro Branco

Luis Seabra is a Portuguese wine celebrity and an influential mentor to other producers. Much like Spain’s Raul Pérez, Seabra took the measure of Portugal’s incredible stockpile of ancient grapes and heritage vineyards and reinterpreted them for the modern era, leading a major “cultural shift” in winemaking in his two chosen regions: Douro and Vinho Verde.

Among Seabra’s innovations was simply harvesting white wine grapes earlier, to preserve acidity and avoid elevated alcohol and glycerol levels. “Xisto Ilimitado” is his Portuguese answer to village-level Burgundy; the native grapes Rabigato (60%), Gouveio, Códega, and Viosinho are fermented 90% in used oak and 10% in stainless steel, then aged in the same mix of vessels for one year on lees.

French wine drinkers might go as far as to call this wine “Chablisienne”—it’s taut and bracingly mineral, with a straw-yellow hue and notes of yellow apple, salted lemon, white peach, white pepper, fresh chèvre, white and yellow flowers, and wet stones. Medium-bodied and wonderfully refreshing, it is ready for pairing with grilled octopus or roast chicken.

Luis Seabra, “Xisto Ilimitado” Douro Branco
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Portugal

Northeastern Portugal

Duoro Valley

The Douro winds its way across Portugal from east to west, and along the way, centuries of painstaking manual vineyard work becomes strikingly evident—in the form
of steep-sloping vineyards arrayed on stone terraces. There are nearly a half million acres of vineyards planted here (about as much as the entire state of California), accounting for 22% of all Portuguese wine produced.

Northern Portugal

Dão

The Dão is said to be Portugal’s “oldest” wine region, older even than the Douro, and it is perhaps the most prestigious of Portugal’s 31 DOC appellations. Situated on the Beira Alta plateau surrounding the Dão River, the region is sheltered on all sides by mountains and boasts
a relatively cool, dry climate, with soils of weathered schist and granite.

Northwestern Portugal

Vinho Verde

Vinho Verde is Portugal’s largest DOC, with nine sub-regions within it. Monção and Melgaço are neighboring towns that hug the border with Spain, on the Minho River; immediately to the south is the
mountainous Peneda-Gerês National Park. Soils are granitic and the climate cool, with warm days and cold nights facilitating a longer growing season—great for developing complexity.

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