Score: 85/100
Tasting Notes
This Portuguese Vinho Verde made from the Loureiro grape variety (made in an area North of the Douro Valley) comes in a rather pale yellow color with green hues, typical of this style of crisp white wine (‘verde’ obviously being Portuguese for green).
The nose is explosive fragrant, and upfront fruity!
A wealth of intense pear aromas dominates the profile, backed up by juicy lemon and grapefruit notes. Light and very lifted fruit make you want to dig further and find out whether it tastes as powerfully aromatic as it smells.
And yes, the palate is also very fragrant, with a burst of lime, pear again, but also super-intense acacia honey flavors and mandarin.
The acidity is crisp and feeling juicy, making your mouth salivate with subtly green phenolics accentuating the citrusy effect. It does feel much like biting into a lime, well not quite as aggressive, but the flavor profiles remind of it.
Some residual sweetness is present and balances out the acidity well, smoothening up the mouthfeel very well. The result is that despite being both sweet and intensely acidic, it overall feels none of those, but crisp, refreshing and juicy, somewhat like a home-made lemonade although obviously, it’s much better because its WINE!
Typical of Portugal‘s Vinho Verde style, but in such a postive manner, this Casa de Paços’ is a rather brilliant example of the style.
Enjoy 🙂
Please let me know your thoughts