Luis Seabra

VISIT THIS PRODUCER'S WEBSITE
VISIT IMPORTER'S WEBSITE
Country of Origin: Portugal
Location: Douro, Portugal
People: Luis Seabra, Owner & Winemaker

Items

Luis Seabra 2021 'Granito Cru' Alvarinho, Vinho Verde DOC Login WS 90 WA 93 Please inquire
Luis Seabra 2021 'Xisto Cru' Branco, Douro DOC Login WS 91 WA 94 Please inquire
Luis Seabra 2022 'Xisto Ilimitado' Branco, Douro DOC Login WA 90 In Stock
Luis Seabra 2021 'Mono C' Castelao, Douro DOC Login WA 93 Please inquire
Luis Seabra 2021 'Xisto Ilimitado' Tinto, Douro DOC Login WA 91 In Stock

A star of the "new Portugal," Seabra is known for his intense and ageworthy still wines. His minimal-intervention approach yields wines that are terroir-driven testaments to ancient plots on the steep banks of the Douro River.

After a decade as the winemaker at Niepoort, where he was responsible for some of the best known and highly rated wines to come out of Douro and Porto, Luis Seabra decided that he no longer wanted to make wines following someone else’s tastes and specifications. Thus, he began his eponymous winery, and set about shattering preconceptions of what Douro wines represent.

Seabra is a particularly gifted winemaker, one who sees wine as a medium through which a piece of land can speak. The wines are stark expressions of the soil...and are extraordinary, especially the Cru Series. "Cru" translates as "raw" in Portuguese, and with these wines in particular, the transmission of terroir is unadulterated and singular.

Most of the vineyards are located between the southern part of the Douro Superior in eastern Douro near the Spanish border and the Cima Corgo at the heart of the Douro. The Cima Corgo is a subregion that experiences an extreme diurnal shift—in fact, it has some of the greatest day-night temperature swings in Portugal. The vines are very old, with some exceeding 100 years in age. The soil is primarily schist (xisto). Fermentation is spontaneous with native yeast.

Media Links
The New York Times: Where Port Reigns, Unfortified Wines Undergo a Stylistic Evolution
I'll Drink to That! Episode 458: Luis Seabra Opposes the Winemaking Orthodoxy
Punch: The 25 Essential Wines of 2018
Blend - The Online Wine Magazine: Raw: The Wines of Luis Seabra
SevenFifty Daily: Making a Case for Premium Vinho Verde

Social Media
Instagram: @lseabrawine

Reviews

  • Luis Seabra 2021 'Granito Cru' Alvarinho, Vinho Verde DOC
    The Wine Spectator
    Rating: 90 (11/15/2023)
    A rich white sculpted by well-honed acidity, with a fragrant range of ground cardamom, saffron, orange peel and clove notes wafting through flavors of baked quince, salted Marcona almond and dried white cherry.
  • Luis Seabra 2021 'Xisto Cru' Branco, Douro DOC
    The Wine Spectator
    Rating: 91 (11/15/2023)

    Sleek and harmonious, this graceful white has good drive and pretty accents of white blossoms and lemon thyme to the ripe nectarine and melon fruit. Reveals a salty, mineral underpinning that gains momentum and lingers on the fresh finish.

  • Luis Seabra 2022 'Xisto Ilimitado' Branco, Douro DOC
    The Wine Advocate
    Rating: 90 (4/4/2024)
    The 2022 Xisto Ilimitado Branco was not approved by the Douro appellation, but it's from Douro grapes, from the zone of Meda in the south of Douro Superior, close to Beiras, from purchased grapes, mostly Rabigato. It has the Seabra signature of cleanliness, definition, balance, elegance and quality oak. It has 12.5% alcohol and a round palate. All of the whites go through 100% malolactic, and in this case, some 20% of the wine was unoaked. 2022 is a year with more fruit, rounder, with mellow acidity.
  • Luis Seabra 2021 'Granito Cru' Alvarinho, Vinho Verde DOC
    The Wine Advocate
    Rating: 93 (4/4/2024)
    The 2021 Granito Cru Alvarinho comes from the 3.5 hectares of Alvarinho he has in Melgaço (he's going to plant another half hectare there). It has a golden color and a very expressive, perfumed and different nose, with something savory, reminiscent of a Savagnin. It fermented in foudres of different sizes where it matured and then was fine-tuned in stainless steel. It was produced in an oxidative way, and then the stainless steel and bottle make it more reductive. It has an austere palate, with chalkiness and the granularity and sapid twist of the granite soils. It's medium-bodied, with moderate ripeness and 12% alcohol. Like all of the whites, it goes through full malolactic and spends two winters in the winery before it's bottled.
  • Luis Seabra 2021 'Mono C' Castelao, Douro DOC
    The Wine Advocate
    Rating: 93 (4/4/2024)

    The 2021 Mono C is the only varietal Castelão from Douro. "It's an allowed variety in Douro, but this comes from the only Castelão vineyard I know in the region," Seabra told me. It has a paler color and a higher-pitched nose, with notes of red berries and spices, something earthy and a touch of rusticity. The palate is medium-bodied with some grainy tannins and freshness, a lighter Douro with less color and tannins. It fermented in concrete and matured in concrete and 2,500-liter Italian oak foudre. With time in the glass, the balsamic note is more moderate, and it becomes more elegant and floral.

  • Luis Seabra 2021 'Xisto Cru' Branco, Douro DOC
    The Wine Advocate
    Rating: 94 (4/4/2024)
    The 2021 Xisto Cru Branco is from a vineyard he works at almost 800 meters above sea level with lots of Rabigato, usually the last vineyard to be harvested. It fermented in used 228-liter barrels from Burgundy, where it matured for one year and then six months in stainless steel. It has some creaminess, notes of spices, toast and smoke intermixed with aromas of yellow fruit and flowers, pollen and beeswax, with a nose closer to a white from the Rhône. It is more phenolic than the other whites, with good acidity and volume and a combination of power and elegance. This is always a very regular wine.
  • Luis Seabra 2021 'Xisto Ilimitado' Tinto, Douro DOC
    The Wine Advocate
    Rating: 91 (4/4/2024)
    The red 2021 Xisto Ilimitado has a clean, expressive, fruit-driven nose that is quite aromatic, almost floral, attractive and elegant. Made from purchased grapes in the Pinhão zone, it was vinified with 100% full clusters in concrete and stainless steel and matured mostly in oak of different sizes for 15 months. The palate is juicy and fruit-driven, with fine and round tannins, a soft mouthfeel and a velvety texture. It has a moderate 12.5% alcohol, contained ripeness and a dry finish.