Five years after the last release, Ravasqueira’s single-varietal Alvarinho is once again available, just in time to refresh the warmest months of spring and summer. Produced exclusively from grapes of the national variety especially associated with the Vinho Verde region, this single-varietal wine originates from a very specific plot, vinified with great precision and covering less than one hectare – among the 3,000 that make up the Alentejan property in Arraiolos.

Ravasqueira Alvarinho 2023 (€15) underwent fermentation in stainless steel vats and aging at low temperatures, remaining on the lees with moderate battonage for five months before bottling. As a result, it is a wine with intense and bright greenish-yellow hues, an expressive nose with intense orange blossom, which becomes more pronounced with time in the glass and temperature. On the palate, it strongly highlights its mineral character with citrus notes. A white wine to be enjoyed now during the longer days of 2024, but also with great aging potential.

Also arriving on the market, just in time to refresh lovers of great white wines, is the Vinha das Romãs Blanc de Noirs 2023 (€21), a very special white wine made from the same red grapes that are the basis of the iconic Vinha das Romãs Tinto. A technique called blanc de noirs (white from red grapes) by the French, which allows extracting the essential from the grapes, giving the wine a crisp acidity, its special hallmark, balanced by the fruit – with peach and apricot notes perfectly combining with the very present minerality. A white wine that shows quality and versatility to those who drink it, being eminently gastronomic but also a good aging wine, for half a dozen years.

“The high temperatures recorded last summer and the excellent acidity presented by the Alvarinho grapes allowed us to produce a single-varietal of great quality with exceptional characteristics. Six years after the last edition, we considered that 2023 was a year with optimal conditions for the variety to present itself and surprise. The balance between the fruit and acidity creates a fantastic mouthfeel and an aroma that will captivate those who taste it,” says David Baverstock, Chairman Winemaker of WineStone, the group that owns Ravasqueira.

For her part, Ana Filipa Pereira, responsible for winemaking at Ravasqueira, highlights the qualities of the third edition of the Vinha das Romãs Blanc de Noirs: “Vinha das Romãs is already, without a doubt, a great icon of this house, very marked by the plot where its grapes grow, where a pomegranate orchard once stood. Making this white wine from red grapes is always a challenge, a responsibility, and a simply passionate discovery. The final result, so deliciously balanced, makes us believe that it will have the same success as its ‘brother’ red wine.”