red grape · regional staple
Sousón
Miño river valley, Galicia–Portugal border
Say it
soo·son
Galician name; accent mark on ó signals final-syllable stress; the Portuguese twin "Vinhão" sounds like veen-YOWN
On the palate
blackberryblack cherrycranberryvioletlicoriceforest floor
How you spot it blind: near-opaque inky color paired with fierce acidity — both near-extreme
The story
First written down · late 18th century, Portugal
First formally documented by Portuguese ampelographer Rebello da Fonseca c. 1790, when it entered the Douro Valley as a color-boosting Port blending component.
Where it lives
Rías Baixas, Galicia, Spain · Ribeiro, Galicia, Spain · Vinho Verde DOC, Portugal
Shows up as
still redfortifiedRías BaixasVinho Verde
If you like this, try
Also answers to Souson, Vinhão.