Portugal is experiencing an exciting revolution in its wine industry, moving well beyond traditional fortified wines like Port and Madeira to showcase a diverse range of high-quality still wines. This "new wave" of Portuguese wines is characterized by innovation, a focus on native grape varieties, and a blend of modern winemaking techniques with respect for tradition. 

This has been driven by some stalwart producers who have been pushing the quality envelope showing just how good these wines can be. Anselmo Mendes is one who should get a lot of the praise and his selection of whites from the country's sunny northwest are brilliant examples of what can be done with a little care and attention. At the same time, producers like Dirk Niepport are following the charge with their rich reds that speak clearly of their home in the Douro embracing modernity and freshness to make some very compelling wines.

As we explore further winemakers like Carlos Raposo and Luis Seabra among others are taking the still wines of Portugal to the next level. They are embracing a rich viticultural heritage but bringing something a little different, a bit more funky in all the best ways, and making wines of serious interest and quality. It's really exciting stuff.

We hope you enjoy this eclectic and fascinating mix of white and reds from Portugal that is sure to both delight and surprise.

Anselmo Mendes Contacto Alvarinho 2021

Gooseberries, green apples, pineapple and salted limes on the nose. Crisp and tangy with bright green fruit and a light to medium body. Textured finish. Drink now. JAMES SUCKLING 

Anselmo Mendes is one of Portugal’s most celebrated and innovative winemakers, particularly known for his mastery with the Alvarinho grape in the Vinho Verde region. His wines have gained international acclaim for their quality, expression of terroir, and distinctive style, which balances tradition with modern winemaking techniques.

Born in Monção, a sub-region of Vinho Verde, which is famous for producing some of the finest Alvarinho wines. He has deep roots in the region, and this connection is reflected in his passionate approach to winemaking.Mendes studied Agronomy and Oenology and has been involved in the wine industry for decades. His expertise has earned him the nickname "Mr. Alvarinho" due to his pioneering work with this grape variety.

Mendes is dedicated to showcasing the potential of indigenous Portuguese grape varieties, particularly Alvarinho, Loureiro, and others from the Vinho Verde region. His approach emphasizes the expression of terroir, the importance of vineyard management, and a focus on sustainability. He blends traditional methods with innovation, including the use of techniques like skin contact, lees aging, and fermentation in various vessels such as stainless steel, oak, and even concrete eggs.

 

Quinta do Ameal Loureiro 2020

Louro is the Atlantic coastal name for the Laurel, or Bay tree. Loureiro wines are floral and smell deeply of lemon and bay. The basic characteristic is a linear, racy and acidic wine with low levels of both grape sugar and phenolic material. After careful viticulture, winemaking is simple and tech-driven: low-cropped old vines are sorted twice (firstly to eliminate disease, then further selected for quality); whole grapes undergo penumatic pressing; must is cold-settled for 48 hours; a quite cool fermentation (max 15 degrees) takes place in stainless steel vats for 12-15 days; the wine is matured for 6 months in stainless steel.

Over the past decade, organic and biodynamic viticulture has progressively added a deeper, richer, fragrant bay leaf character to the lemony precision of Pedro's outstanding crunch-yet-textured Loureiro white.

Xisto Ilimitado Branco 2021

Top flight producer from Portugal. Killer.

Salty! Lush texture in a way, soft, supple, but with this nice bite of saline elements and a woosh of lemon juice, lemon curd going on. Green apple too. It has a kind of beach succulent character in the mix. It has a crispness to finish. Yellow stone fruits? There. Lots on, lots of pleasure, easy drinking, very good. MIKE BENNIE, The Wine Front 

In the Douro region where there are numerous varieties planted in different types of terraces, slopes or flat areas, schist is the common denominator, vineyards based on schist slopes that have no end. This is the starting point for the Xisto Ilimitado, a search that tries to express the wine area of Meda which have their own character, where Rabigato is the main variety but is never alone. Different plots of vineyards that have similar characteristics from Meda area in Douro Suprerior where mica schist soils are predominant.

Before pressing, the grapes were crushed and de-stemmed, press is done without prior maceration, the wine was decanted at low temperature for 24 hours, indigenous yeast fermentation and ageing took place in used French oak barrels of 228 and 500 litres, 40% of the wine fermented and aged in stainless steel

Impecavel Encruzado Touriga Nacional Dão Tinto 2021

TOP 100 WINES OF PORTUGAL 2023

Impecável (meaning 'impeccable') is an extremely pure expression of Touriga Nacional from the Dão region, where it probably originated even if it is more often associated with the Douro, for both ports and table wine. In Dão it is generally blended with Jaen (known as Mencía in Spain) and/or Alfrocheiro and Tinta Roriz. It does remind me a little bit of Fitapreta's A Touriga Vai Nua, which was my wine of the week three years ago, though Impecável is perhaps a little less sweet-fruited thanks to the cooler, more northerly vineyard site and the imprint of the Dão's granite soils. This is deliciously floral, with a herbal freshness even though the grapes were fully destemmed, and it carries its 13% alcohol effortlessly. The tannins are silky, the whole is mouth-watering. It is fantastic quality for the price. JULIA HARDING MW, JancisRobinson.com

This is spiced and savory with attractive crushed berries and notes of dried herbs and violets. Lovely texture with very fine, polished tannins and a soft, supple mouthfeel. Pure and delicious with hints of spices at the end. Touriga nacional. Unoaked. Drink or hold. JAMES SUCKLING

António Madeira Dão Tinto 2020 

The tinto 2020 is a red wine produced from the blending of several vines where there are many indigenous grape varieties, especially the Alfrocheiro, Tinta Pinheira and Jaen. We love these blends whiche deliver incredible lush fruits, from the warm climates of the Dao but with freshness and energy too. Very, very cool.

Alcoholic fermentation took place in open vats and began naturally, with the yeast from the vine itself, to express its identity in the purest form. Very little extraction was sought. After pressing, the wine was placed into used French oak barrels, where malolactic fermentation took place until the following spring and where it aged for 18 months.

This shows nice concentration of ripe cherry and blackberry fruit with good acidity and nice depth. There’s lovely inky fruit here with some liqourice and red pepper. Structured and forward with ripeness but also freshness. Very expressive and focused with fruit to the fore. 

Niepoort Vertente Douro 2018

The 2018 Vertente is a field blend of grapes like Tinta Roriz and Touriga Franca aged for 22 months in 90% used French oak. It comes in at 12.6% alcohol. Always one of the winery's best values, this sometimes hangs with the big boys while coming in at a very nice price point. This year, it's graceful and textured, adding very ripe tannins on the finish. It is probably a step or two behind the 2017, but still very good. Easy to drink right now, it should still hold at least another decade or so. There were 78,800 bottles produced from vines ranging from 30 to 60 years in age. MARK SQUIRES, The Wine Advacate 

Vertente means ‘the slope of a hill’ … at which there are always several ways to look. The innovation alluded to is Dirk’s use of temperature controlled stainless steel lagares, in which the wine is trodden and fermented before 16 months in oak – tradition both retained and tweaked. The extraction is gentle, to promote delicacy. The fruit is a selection of Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca and Tinta Amarela from 60yo vines.