Vinho Verde Alvarinho has graduated from its roots as a porch pounder for the hottest day of the year into a delicious and diverse answer to Spain’s Rias Baixas Albarino. One of the primary reasons Vinho Verde has been so elevated is Anselmo Mendes, who has long treated his grapes better than his peers. The Mendes Contacto cuvee became a standby at L&E and all over Portland as a high quality, low cost expression of Vinho Verde’s potential. Anselmo no longer makes Contacto - he sold that brand off for a hefty sum - but he has replaced it with this exceptional Alvarinho from the prestigious Monçao e Melgaco subzone, right on the border with Spain. The wine is lean, fresh, full of tension and energy. Notes of key lime, salty granite bedrock, lemon zest and quince come through on the nose. The palate comes as though shot from a cannon with white strawberry and lime fruit, eye-ticking acidity and a lightly creamy texture after some skin contact in the cellar. An inviting pair for scallops, oysters, crab, or clams.