Douro - Luis Seabra Vinhos

In 2012, Luis Seabra quit his prestigious post making wine at Niepoort to strike out on his own. He explains, “after so many years doing what I love for others, I think it gets to a point of why not do it for yourself.”

The philosophy at Luis Seabra Vinhos is encapsulated in the brand name Cru, which means raw. Seabra’s aim is to make wines “that really tell you where they come from, wine from specific vineyards with minimal intervention, wines that are true and honest, raw and pure…. Just getting back to basics.”

“Back to basics” has a very specific resonance for us Brits. It was the campaign slogan that came back to haunt former British Prime Minister John Major during the 1990s as a series of scandals rocked the Tory party. What does it actually mean to Seabra?

He tells me “the only thing used in the wines is sulphur [an anti-oxidant and antimicrobial agent]” and, even then, in low amounts “just to keep the wines on the track.” He adds “I also prefer to have more oxygen in the juice and in young wines, for them to be able to stabilize in all ways and to age better in the bottle.” The impact of this minimal intervention approach is readily apparent in Seabra’s textural, un-pushed wines and the funky, slightly nutty rather than fruity flavour profile of his whites in particular

In France Cru also denotes a special vineyard or area of vineyards. While Seabra is currently buying specific parcels of old vine fruit from a few growers he has known a long time he says, “the moment I will own the vineyards I could do a CRU of a specific plot.” No doubt he will then bring his minimal intervention approach to grape growing too. For now, he candidly admits, “I have some input in the vineyard management, but I’m fooling myself. What I do it’s slowly changing mentalities of growers….If I can convince a specific grower not to use herbicides in one year it is a big achievement for me.”

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