Luis Seabra Vinhos Xisto Duoro

Minerality rings true from the very first sip of this wine, with tasting notes of stone, meadow herbs, dried quince, anise, and a faint salt and flint finish. No wonder, since it’s made from 70 percent Rabigato—one of the brightest, most acidic white grapes in the Duoro—balanced with Codega, Gouveio, Viosinho, and Dozelino Branco. It is a wine with fantastic structure and finesse, a joy to drink immediately or to store for a special occasion.

Portuguese wines belong to the Old World wine grouping, especially blends from the Duoro. While young, the Xisto Cru Branco by Luis Seabra Vinhos, made predominantly with the highly aromatic Rabigato grape, is beautiful with seafood, especially grilled fish with a light salada mixta on the side. Shellfish like stone crabs, mussels, and clams, plentiful in the region, also pair well with this wine. With a few years’ aging, the Xisto Cru Branco also pairs well with stronger fish dishes like bacalao, salty cod, and roast chicken or rabbit dishes in white sauce.

Luis Seabra specializes in cru wines. Having gotten his start at the prestigious Niepoort Winery in the Duoro Valley, Seabra decided to strike out on his own in 2012. His goal in setting up shop in both the Duoro and the Dão regions of Portugal is to make wines from specific vineyards with little intervention, creating vintages that are raw, pure, tasting of the terroir itself.

Store your unopened bottle in a cool, dry, and dark place safe from constant vibration. Keep your bottle horizontal in a wine rack or cellar to retain the moistness of the cork. The ideal temperature for storage is between 7 to 15°C. Once opened, a bottle will be good for 3 to 5 days standing upright in the refrigerator.