Decanter ‘Best in Show’, £11 a bottle in bond (£16.52 inclusive)

2024 Soalheiro Alvarinho, 97 points

We've been fans of the Soalheiro Alvarinho for a long time, so it was gratifying to see the 2024 vintage score big at this year's Decanter World Wine Awards. The judges labelled it 'best in show'. They praised its 'floral charm', its 'svelte and textured' density, its 'natural drive and freshness' – and gave it a whopping score of 97 points. And all that for only £11 a bottle in bond (that’s £16.52 including duty and VAT).

They weren't wrong: the combination of steely acidity and stonefruit richness makes this a compelling wine, with peach and lemon flavours playing off against the salty, mineral finish. The fresh intensity is down to it having seen no oak or malolactic fermentation; the textured creaminess across the mid-palate is from lees aging.

The Soalheiro vineyards slope down towards the Minho River, which marks the Spanish border. 'Soalheiro' means 'sunny', and it’s what João António Cerdeira christened the vineyard he planted here in 1974, as it lay in the sun all day, soaking up light. Fifty years on, Soalheiro is Portugal's finest Alvarinho producer, producing dazzling examples vintage after vintage. /NT

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