Luis Seabra Xisto Cru Tinto 2022

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

The Xisto Cru Tinto is part of Seabra's most terroir-driven series of wines. "Cru" means "raw" in Portuguese, and here the transmission of terroir is unadulterated and singular — every variable removed except the land itself, worked exclusively with spontaneous fermentation, native yeasts, and large-format, tight-grained oak.

Xisto Cru Tinto comes from just two small, centenarian vineyards, planted between 1910 and 1933, sitting on opposite sides of the Douro River near Pinhão, in Cima Corgo. Farmed directly by Luís and his team, these are among the latest vineyards harvested anywhere in the region. Cima Corgo experiences some of the greatest day-to-night temperature swings in Portugal, giving the fruit extended hangtime on the vine. The vines grow exclusively in mica schist soil, at elevations between roughly 400 and 700 metres, and the wine is a field blend: 20% Rufete, 20% Touriga Franca, 10% Tinta Carvalha, 10% Alicante Bouschet, 10% Tinta Roriz, 15% Donzelinho Tinto and 15% Malvasia Preta.

The grapes ferment spontaneously with native yeast in closed wooden vats, macerating for up to two months to let the naturally intense tannins soften and integrate. The wine is aged 18–24 months in used French oak, racked only once — in spring, after malolactic fermentation — to remove the lees, then bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Dark ruby in colour, with a mineral-driven nose of red berries, forest floor, green herbs and smoke. The palate has lively acidity cutting through a core of fraise de bois, ripe strawberry and sour cherry, finishing with excellent precision on wet stone and dusty mineral. Decant for an hour before serving.

Rating history: 2023: 95 (Wine Advocate); 2022: 95 (James Suckling), 94 (Wine Advocate); 2021: 96 (James Suckling), 95 (Wine Advocate), 90 (Wine Enthusiast), 92 (Wine & Spirits); 2019: 96+ (Wine Advocate); 2016: 93 (Wine Advocate); 2015: 95 (Wine Advocate), 93 (Vinhos de Portugal / VFTC)

Pairing suggestions: Grilled and roasted meats, mushrooms, smoked and cured meats.