Quinta do Gradil Alvarinho 2023

Alvarinho with a spine and a sea breeze slap to the face.

This isn’t your average “oh how crisp and floral” white. This one rolls in from Portugal’s coast with attitude, soaked in citrus and salt, and it’s not here to play nice. Straight outta 1492 - yeah, this estate’s been doing wine longer than most countries have had flags - but there’s nothing dusty or old-fashioned about this drop.

First sip? Bang. Orange and tangerine, but not the sugary juice box kind. This is peel and pith - zesty, bitter, bright - like biting into the fruit without asking permission. It’s sharp in a good way. Fresh like a cold wave to the chest, structured like someone who actually reads the manual, and more mineral than a bloody geology exhibit.

It’s clean but not boring, polished without being pretentious. No fluff, no fake oak perfume, no attempt to be anything other than what it is - a proper coastal white with guts, precision, and just enough swagger to pair with anything salty, grilled, or still twitching from the sea.

This Alvarinho doesn’t scream. It hums. Confident, tight, and smooth as hell on the finish. You could drink this in a fine dining restaurant or straight from the bottle on a cliff while the wind tries to blow your hat off. Either works.

Verdict: Sharp, citrus-driven, proudly Portuguese. Drinks like it knows exactly who it is.

Serve cold, pour heavy, shut up and enjoy.

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