Wine of the Week 5/11/21

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Asnella Single Vineyard Vinho Verde 2019

Regularly $17.99/On Sale for $14.96

The success of the wine most of us have encountered as “Vinho Verde” has somewhat eclipsed the variety of styles from this excellent Portuguese wine region. (Yes, it’s a region, not a style!) Asnella is a single vineyard Vinho Verde that exposes an unexplored side of the Vinho Verde DOC. In addition to the delicious, lightly effervescent aperitif-style wines that are most frequently exported from this part of Northern Portugual, there is a whole category of terroir-driven, artisan wines that has heretofore gone unnoticed. The vineyard where Asnella is grown is on the border between the Southern side of the Vinho Verde DOC and the Northern edge of the Douro. While this wine is a “single-vineyard” designate, the vineyard in question contains a fault line that separates two very different soil types – the schist of the Northern Douro and the granite of the Douro, as noted on either side of the label. The blend of these two parcels in the vineyard imbues the wine with a profound minerality and weight uncommon for Vinho Verde. 60% Arinto, 40% Loureiro. Sustainably farmed vines planted in 1992. Brought to the US by cult Iberian wine importers Olé and Obrigado, this wine will convert Vinho Verde skeptics, and delight Vinho Verde enthusiasts! The flinty minerality and bright fruit on the Asnella make it an ideal pair for oysters, but we drink this all summer long with all kinds of foods. Get some in your fridge now!