Vintage 2023 – notes and vinification
There is something common to all the Primeiras Vinhas vintages: elegance and precision. Soalheiro Primeiras Vinhas 2023 combines profound elegance with unique acidity. It reveals aromas of ripe fruit and hints of spice, which combine in the mouth with its slightly buttery profile. It’s a vertical wine with the texture we’re looking for, reflecting the greater concentration of musts from old vines.
Over the last few years we have done a detailed approach to vinification, currently using Foudres and a large Tonel, which is evident in this vintage in which we are celebrating the 50th Anniversary since the First Vineyard was planted.
15% of the blend fermented in these oak vessels and in used barrels, and the remaining 85% fermented in stainless steel vessels. The philosophy is to keep the wine in contact with the lees through bâtonnage, giving it more structure and a distinctive character.
After ageing for 6 months, it was bottled. Given its potential for ageing in the bottle, we suggest keeping this Commemorative Edition in your cellar for a while!
A wine that tells a 50-year-old story
It was in 1974 that the Cerdeira family planted the First Continuous Alvarinho Vineyard in Melgaço, on a plot called Soalheiro. Primeiras Vinhas was born in this vineyard and the new vintage is a Commemorative Edition to celebrate the 50th Anniversary since the First Vineyard was planted.
The first vintage of Primeiras Vinhas was in 2006 and it was the first time that old Alvarinho vines were truly valorised in the territory. Primeiras Vinhas has become an icon for Soalheiro and a driving force for the preservation of old vines in Monção and Melgaço. Today, Primeiras Vinhas joins the vineyard that gave rise to it with a selection of plots over 30 years old from the Soalheiro Viticulturists Club.
A driving force for the preservation of old vines in Monção and Melgaço
Over the last few years, Soalheiro has catalogued the vineyards of the Viticulturists Club, identifying different profiles, including that of the old vines, which allows us to do exclusive harvests.
In the case of Soalheiro Primeiras Vinhas , we coordinate the harvest of the First Vineyard and the harvest of the Viticulturist Club old vines selection to the same days, ensuring that this precise work is reflected in the winery.
Soalheiro’s First Vineyard retains the innovative character behind its plantation. Today, it is used as a place of study and learning, through partnerships with universities and innovation centres, to extend the longevity of the oldest vines, recognising them as having a unique and distinctive profile.
Fifty years on, the First Continuous Alvarinho Vineyard in Melgaço is today at the centre of a patchwork quilt, a landscape of smallholdings marked by the small plots of Alvarinho scattered throughout the territory.
Read more details about the 2023 harvest and consult the technical sheets!
Soalheiro Primeiras Vinhas 2023
