2016 Quinta do Regueiro Alvarinho Trajadura 750 ml

The Most Important Moment in the Life of an Alvarinho Grape

It doesn’t matter whether you ask the Wine Access faithful or Wine Enthusiast’s #1 Sommelier in America, Michael Madrigale, all are in agreement: The Quinta do Regueiro Alvarinho Trajadura is a stunning value.

Culled from a pristine site in Portugal’s Vinho Verde region, the 2016 Quinta do Regueiro Alvarinho is outpacing its older siblings — the 2014 and 2015 — which Wine Access clients have rated 4 out of 5 stars.

Our longtime friend Michael Madrigale confirmed as much when we last met up with him at his old haunt, NYC’s Bar Boulud on 64th and Broadway. The #1 Somm in America had brought a bottle of the 2016 to pair with Chef Daniel Boulud’s charcuterie spread, and he could hardly contain himself.

“If you taste this wine blind, you might put it in the central Loire. Maybe Alsace. But this is Portuguese Alvarinho. The secret to growing Alvarinho is in first controlling yields and then picking at the optimal moment. Pick too early and you lose the mineral complexity. Pick too late and the acids drop out. Regueiro is the region’s superstar. Old school, yet innovative. No CO2 addition. Burgundian in the cellar with one month of bâtonnage. The 2016 Regueiro blew away the field.”

Along the south bank of the Minho River, the Alvarinho grape has thrived in the granite soils, with cold but wet enough winters giving way to hot and dry summers. The most important moment in the life of an Alvarinho grape — for a wine drinker — is when the grape is picked. The grapes for the 2016 Regueiro came in off the vine at just the right moment, with bracing acidity and fresh fruit flavors. In a class by itself, exemplifying the world of Portuguese wine beyond Port, and at this price-point, there’s absolutely no reason to play it safe.