Wine & Soul Vinho Branco Guru 2016

The 2016 Guru is a roughly equal blend of Codega do Larinho, Rabigato, Viosinho and Gouveio aged for just six months in 30% new French oak, including the use of some bigger barrels. It comes in at 12.5% alcohol. Sourced from 50-year-old vines, it was bottled only a week before tasting, but it sure seemed to be doing well. It shows much more crisply than in some years and the impression of wood has pretty much disappeared, as this winery reduces the oak involved. It shows fine concentration and even better tension on the finish. The smoky aromatics of which I’ve complained in the past are only a hint this year, much more restrained to the point where they do not seem to be an issue. That should get better, not worse. Intense and deep, Guru is very fine this year. It should hold at least a decade, probably more.

This medium-bodied white is elegantly made, echoing melon, lemon oil and white peach flavors, accented by white pepper, wet stone and white blossom details. Sweet spice and creamy accents linger on the long finish. Drink now through 2022. 500 cases made.