2017 Casa de Mouraz ALR Vinho Verde

NEW VINTAGE ALERT!  Husband and wife Sara and António took over António’s family’s organic estate, but only after he studied law and worked as an editor. In 2000, the couple quit their jobs, left Lisbon behind and returned to the Dão to make wine. In the rough, rocky foothills of the Serra de Estrela Mountain, Portugal’s highest mountain range, Sara and António farm a handful of native grapes biodynamically – super challenging in this humid, damp region where almost everyone sprays chemicals to combat the rampant mildew, rot and pests. This is one of the best Vinho Verdes we’ve ever had, drinking more like a perfect dry Riesling than the often one-dimensional, fluffy Vinho Verdes on the market. Like in Riesling, there is an oily texture, with gorgeous honeyed lime notes, intense slate-y minerality, and an almost weightless density.  And it smells like marshmallows, which is hard to place but super fun nonetheless.