It all starts in the vineyard. This is a sentence that is always remembered during the Harvest and which, this year, had a special meaning for us, because we have celebrated 50 years since we planted of our first vineyard, the plot that gave us our name, Soalheiro, the first Melgaço’s continuous vineyard of Alvarinho since 1974. It was from this vineyard, planted in the family, that the brand was born and a history of valuing Alvarinho and the uniqueness of family viticulture, in a territory that gathers every year for the Harvest, where people help each other and gratitude is shown at the table – a moment of celebration that marks the end of a year of work in the vineyard and the beginning of a new harvest in the winery.
After 50 years, the family’s first vineyard is today at the center of the patchwork, a landscape of smallholdings marked by small plots of Alvarinho spread throughout the territory. Our Viticulturist Club is made up of around 200 families who treat the vineyards like gardens, at the end of the day and on weekends, dedicating to them the attention that the first vineyard has deserved for us over these 50 years. Different vineyards, a family care. It is from this diversity and knowledge of the place, that we start the different harvests we carry out: over the last few years, we have cataloged all the small vineyard plots, identifying different profiles – valley, altitude, old vines, lower elevations next to the Minho River, biological, etc. –, in search for the greatest possible precision to valuing different Alvarinho profiles, and to valuing our territory.
A BALANCED CYCLE WITHOUT UNWANTED SURPRISES
The cycle began with a very rainy autumn and winter. According to the Alvaredo Meteorological Station data, during the vegetative rest phase, between November and March, it rained 1500 millimeters (mm). If we look at the last five harvests, this was the rainiest during this period.
Budding took place in the second half of March, a little later than the previous year. It was not a year of exaggerated birth nor were there any unwanted surprises, starting with an unblemished flowering, which occurred at the end of May, around 10 days later than the previous year. The month of May was especially rainy, with 178mm of rain falling, the highest amount in this month in the last five years. Despite the rain, the bunches grew very satisfactorily, with a great balance in the distribution of bunches per vine being evident early on, in most plots.
The clusters closure began at the end of June. The months of June and July were some of the driest in the last five years – the low humidity levels at this critical stage of the cycle helped to prevent mildew attacks that, for example last year, affected many winegrowers in Monção and Melgaço.
Compared to 2023, a delay of approximately one week was observed in the beginning of maturation, with the first signs appearing at the end of July, with the weather conditions during the month of August favoring the development of the grapes, namely the occurrence of large thermal amplitudes, in Monção and Melgaço. In August, the average daily maximum temperature was 32.1 ºC and the average daily minimum temperature was 17.3 ºC – with a maximum temperature of 39.2 ºC and a minimum of 12.5 ºC recorded this month. The average daily temperature range was 14.8 ºC, which meant that maturation did not have unwanted peaks. This is a characteristic of Monção and Melgaço at this stage of the cycle: days heat up and nights cool down, which proves to be a differentiating and stable factor, year after year.
Regarding precipitation in August, the value was the lowest in the last five years – 2.4mm –, but the large amount of water stored by the soil at the beginning of the cycle meant that the problem of water stress never existed.
The greater the precision of the harvest, the greater the precision in the wines
For many years, we have been doing several harvests at Soalheiro, that is, having all the vineyards located and characterized, we carry out maturation controls spread throughout the territory to mark the harvest in the most careful way possible for each plot and for each of the categories, that we work in the winery (Alvarinho from the valley, high altitude, old vineyards, etc.). The detail in marking each of these harvests is essential to maintain consistency in the classic profiles of Soalheiro and to discover and improve new profiles, increasingly valuing the diversity of the territory.
With the first signs of grape maturation being observed at the end of July, we began maturation controls at the beginning of August. After analyzing the various and repeated maturation controls, this year we have decided to start harvesting Alvarinho on August 29th. The variability of harvest starts dates, in recent years, obviously reflects the particularities of the year in question, but our aim is also to mold the harvest to the characteristics of each crop – the greater the precision in the harvest, the greater the precision in the wines.
The climatic conditions, although uncertain, favored the development of healthy grapes with excellent aromatic concentration. The importance of precision in each of the harvests led to the crop, carried out meticulously, secured the maximum expression of Alvarinho’s potential, of the different profiles we developed. Sustainable viticulture and the work to enhance old vines, focusing on the balance and resilience of soils and plants, proved to be fundamental to obtaining high-quality grapes, even in a context of climate change.
The different harvests
Different vineyards, a family care. It is from this diversity and knowledge of the place that we set out to create different Alvarinhos, making different harvests that are later sent to different containers, using different winemaking techniques.
This year the precision of the process has evolved again, allowing the different profiles to be refined: from the freshest and most vibrant wines to wines with greater structure and complexity. Analyzing each area, plots located on cooler slopes provided grapes with greater acidity and more citrus aromas, while sunnier plots contributed to wines with more body and ripe fruit notes.
The style of sparkling wines from this crop will be marked by elegance, balanced acidity and great fruit intensity. The Alvarinho grape for sparkling wines, in Soalheiro, enters on the first days of harvest, seeking to have the ideal acidity and pH, which allows us to make sparkling wines with greater precision – the key point is to have a good balance of acidity, essential for the structure and freshness of the sparkling wine. As soon as they arrive at the winery, the grapes for the sparkling wine base are pressed in an increasingly rigorous and precise way – currently, we only use the cuvée for the sparkling wine base, which ensures greater balance, elegance and finesse.
We also discovered that harvests like 2024 offer an exceptional setting to express the complexity and potential of reds in our territory. Although there is still a lot to explore, the results obtained from the study in recent years, particularly in this harvest, are extremely gratifying and promise good news soon, when it comes to Alvarelhão and Vinhão.
A crop that exceeded all expectations
The 2024 harvest surprised us with wines of exceptional quality, being one of the most exciting in recent years: the maturation of the grapes was slow and balanced, resulting in wines with unique energy and freshness, which are characterized by purity, elegance and an intense aromatic and complex profile, with citrus and floral notes, and a lively and refreshing acidity that gives them great persistence on the palate. All of this bodes well for the 2024 harvest with magnificent bottle aging potential.
Now, the focus of the Soalheiro team is the same as always: the consistency and quality of the classics; experimenting and discovering new profiles, refining details and exploring new frontiers; deepening the knowledge and scientific detail of each vineyard plot, combining it with family care; the desire to work and value the unique diversity of Alvarinho in our territory.