Anselmo Mendes is a Portuguese winemaker with the lightest of touches. Nicknamed “the father of Alvarinho” he hails from the North of Portugal near the border with Galicia where the cultivar thrives. A tasting of his wines this morning was a revelation of just how exciting Alvarinho can be with taut acidity and mineral freshness. In similar style, his Vinho Verde blends are not carbonated and a couple of percentage points higher in the alcohol department than the 8.5% commercial examples.

A travelling winemaker who speaks no English, he has winemaking projects in the Alentejo, Dao, Douro and Lisbon. I tasted his just released 2011 Quinta dos Frades field blends and they are remarkable expressions of a remarkable vintage. Likewise his light red blend of four Portuguese cultivars from the Vinho Verde region called Pardusco has all the lightness and fruit expression of a young Pinot Noir. At an export price of under R50 a bottle, this wine is desperately needed in South Africa as an antidote to Pinot inflation that has seen the style hit ridiculous retail prices.