2023 Alvarinho
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Tasting notes
I don't find a lot of varietal character in the 2023 Alvarinho, which feels a little reductive and could be due to the bottling operation. It has a medium-bodied palate, contained ripeness and 13.1% alcohol. It fermented in stainless steel, where it matured with the lees for six months. 10,000 bottles produced.
Critic scores
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Full bottle 1,149 g. From the Melgaço subregion though the appellation on the label is simply Vinho Verde. Granite soils, hand-harvested. 48-hour cold settling. Fermented in tank and aged 4 months on lees. TA 6.1 g/l, pH 3.37. A beautiful label, from a painting by Howard Hodgkin, Britannia Bombay , in support of Hodgkin's Sovereign Art Foundation, Openly aromatic, mostly fresh herbs and citrus but also a peachy quality, not quite floral. Full of Alvarinho fruit in the mouth, citrus, fresh pears – scented rather than heavily perfumed. Fresh, rounded, with a nicely stony-dry finish. Straightforward, juicy and a touch of bitterness on the finish increasing the freshness. (JH)
About the producer
A joint project from British entrepreneur Howard Bilton and Australian winemaker David Baverstock, Howard’s Folly is a boutique wine producer in the Alentejo. Working with old vines and indigenous grapes largely in the cooler Portalegre, they craft fresh and modern expressions of the region.