Loureiro

Loureiro takes its name from the laurel — loureiro in Portuguese — a reference to the bay-leaf note in its perfume, and it is one of the principal grapes of Vinho Verde in Portugal's far north-west.

The Minho region is green for a reason: it receives well over a metre of rain a year, blown in off the Atlantic, and the traditional response was to train vines high on pergolas and up trees, keeping the fruit off the damp ground and letting air circulate. Grapes grown that way rarely ripened fully, which is the historical explanation for Vinho Verde's low alcohol and searing acidity — green wine means young wine, not green grapes, but the effect was much the same.

Modern viticulture has changed this considerably, with lower training and better site selection, and the best Loureiro is now a serious aromatic white rather than a simple summer drink. It shows lime, green apple and white peach over a pronounced floral note of orange blossom and acacia, with the bay-leaf herbaceousness underneath and a long, saline, mineral finish.

It is at its best in the Lima subregion, and is frequently blended with Alvarinho, Trajadura and Arinto. The common slight spritz in commercial Vinho Verde is usually added carbon dioxide rather than a natural fermentation artefact, and the better bottlings are still.

The same grape is grown across the border in Galicia as Loureira, where it plays a supporting role in Rías Baixas blends alongside Albariño.