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Luis seabra
“Xisto Ilimitado” Branco (White Blend)
For nearly two decades, Luis Seabra has been at the center of a cultural shift in Portuguese winemaking, leading a movement of young, independent winemakers making history by reclaiming historical vineyards, grape varieties, and techniques. His independent journey began in 2004, when he launched a revolutionary still wine program - upending 300 years of tradition that had kept Douro entrenched in the world of fortified wines (port wine). When he founded Luis Seabra Vinhos in 2013, he created the “Cru” series of wines, which revolve not around grape varieties, but vineyard sites. In Seabra’s own words: “we did this to show how we can put the place in the bottle.” Xisto Ilimitado — unlimited schist — is a Portuguese analogue to the idea of a “village” level Burgundy. A field blend of 4 varieties planted across 3 subzones in the Douro, Ilimitado is a survey of the schist- driven terroir in the appellation.
“After many years working for others, it was time to follow my own path. [This is how] Luis Seabra Vinhos was born, with the mission to create wines that tell about the place where they are coming from, made with a minimal-intervention philosophy, [with respect to] their nature and character. ... If we respect the grapes’ individuality in the winery, the wines will be as the vineyards are: discrete, not exuberant, and with a depth and complexity coming from the long years of experience.”
Luis Seabra was born into a coffee farming family in Angola and returned to Portugal in the 1970s. Although he did not grow up in a winemaking environment, his father’s family is originally from Douro, which is where Luis has made his mark as a champion of terroir-driven winemaking. He studied viticulture at the university in Vila Real, in the Alto Douro region of northern Portugal, the crossroads between Douro and Tras-os-Montes. After graduation he spent some time as a teacher, but his boundless curiosity quickly led him to work in soil research and later for one of the large cooperatives in Vinho Verde. Most famously, Luis launched a revolutionary still wine program in 2004 while working at Niepoort, upending 300 years of tradition that kept Douro entrenched in the world of fortified wines, with very few exceptions.
Luis lives upriver from Porto in rural Douro with his wife Natalia, who is also a winemaker and who plays an essential role in his operation. Known for their famous hospitality, Luis and Natalia often host large dinners with his team of interns and other winemakers; his comprehensive understanding of global wines and love of cuisine keeps him from succumbing to the myopic view that some winemakers develop in iconic regions such as Douro. Always playful and curious, Luis loves to compare his wines to another passion of his—jazz music. His broad approach has led him to become an excellent winemaking mentor as well as a sought-after consultant for other wineries.
Compared to his neighbors, Seabra takes a “micro” approach, working with just 8 hectares total across three regions: Douro, Vinho Verde and Dao. Because of his experience working for a large cooperative in Vinho Verde, he has the unique ability to see that the vineyards desirable for uniform, commodity wines are the opposite of what he needs. Instead, he favors old—often extremely challenging! —vineyards to produce wines of character. He has developed a sixth sense around finding these remote, high-altitude vineyards, saying “You look at them and you just know that anything you do from that site is going to be great.” These demanding sites give new meaning to “off the beaten track”—a vast understatement for vineyards that require leaving your car by the side of the road and descending treacherous slopes to access!
Seabra rents vineyards from growers the way the locals always have: with a handshake and goodwill. In some—namely, all the Cru sites—he and his team farm directly. Wherever he has viticultural control, Seabra practices “common sense” agriculture, avoiding chemical treatments unless it would mean the loss of an entire vineyard to disease. It is safe to say that 95% of the time, Seabra farms organically, without the use of any chemical treatments. While working at Niepoort, he observed how the pH of still wines improved after ceasing the use of herbicides, and to this day just applies copper and sulfur in the vineyards. Moreover, the presence of some weeds and vegetation creates healthy competition for the vines, causing them to grow more slowly, thus prolonging hang time and adding more complexity to the final product.
In Douro, Luis vinifies over one dozen local varieties, from reds like Touriga Franca (the “backbone” of Douro), Rufete, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Roriz, and interloper Castelão—but in any given red blend, he notes that you can find tiny splashes of other varieties due to the regional tendency to plant field-blend style. For the Douro whites, Luis relies on Rabigato, Codega, Viosinho, and Gouveio (Godello in Spain).
Portugal:
From Ancient Times to Modern Vines
The douro is the oldest DEMARCATED wine region in the world
People have lived in the valley along the Douro river for at least 25,000 years. We know that because of prehistoric carvings that were found in the northern Douro Valley. The region’s history of viticulture has been a longstanding tradition, going back thousands of years.
Wine exports have a long history in Portugal, as the country had a long-term trading relationship with England. Several wars between England and France during the 18th century considerably increased the demand for Port wines in Britain.
By expanding the transport routes within the Douro Valley the local winegrowers, who lived at their Quintas (as the wineries are called) surrounded by the terraced vineyards, were able to deliver the young Port wines via the Douro river to Oporto (Porto) 80 kilometers away on the Atlantic coast, from where they could be shipped across the ocean.
In 1756 Portugal’s Prime Minister Marques de Pombal drew the borders of the Douro Valley, making it the oldest, demarcated wine region in the world. That led to wine became the region’s main crop, and grapes almost the sole source of income for the valley’s inhabitants. They delivered their wines to the traders in Oporto who undertook the export sales and marketing for the region.
Only after Portugal joined the European Union in 1986 was the export monopoly of the large Port houses abolished and the individual Quintas were granted the right to sell directly on the world market.
On December 14, 2001, a large part of the Alto Douro wine region was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site; another decisive step for the region’s international renown.
60% Rabigato, 15% Gouveio, 15% Códega, 10% Viosinho
sourced from single vineyard sites around Cima Corgo in the Douro Valley
Rabigato is fresh and lively, with subtle floral aromas
Gouveio is moderately acidic, with citrus and peach tones
Códega is round and smooth, with melon and pineapple tones
Viosinho is crisp and acidic, with lemon and grapefruit tones
Soils: Mica Schist
Winemaking: Fermented and aged in a duality of materials to enhance complexity; All indigenous wild yeast fermentation.
90% Neutral Oak Barrels; 10% Stainless Steel
Practicing sustainable and organic (not certified)
tasting notes: Bright straw yellow COLOR. On the nose, stone and orchard fruit abound, with flinty wet stone and white pepper laid over the dominant aromatics. On the palate, impressively bright and mineral driven, with a great balance between power and lift. Lemon, green apple, bosc pear flavors comingle with a touch of floral tone and slate minerals. Juicy and mineral-driven all at once.