Godello: The Queen on the North

Godello, an emerging variety

If we focus on the grape itself, we can say that it has excellent potential and in the hands of remarkable winegrowers and winemakers it is capable of making some of the best whites in the country. It is a small, dense cluster whose berry is medium-sized with a green to yellow colour. Moreover, it is a type of vine sensitive to humidity and cold that requires great care throughout the year. For this reason, it is best adapted to growing in dry soils (with good drainage capacity and little organic matter).

One of the keys to the best Godellos being made today lies in the selection of soils on which the variety expresses itself best, being granite and slate subsoils with sandy soils the ideal ones to find the most racial Godellos, capable of making great aged wines with a purely Atlantic profile such as those made by Rafael Palacios, one of the champions and best ambassadors of the variety.

Godello has been compared for many years with the Albariño grape because of its geographically close origin. The latter has always been more recognised, mainly because for more than 40 years it has been the queen variety in extension and production in Galician white wines in a ratio of 100/1.

Valdeorras, the home of the Godello

Godello is a white wine grape variety that grows in the northwest of Spain, mainly in Galicia, with the Valdeorras DO, in the province of Ourense, being the main denomination of origin that hosts this grape.

Valdeorras is the easternmost region of the province of Ourense, located close to the province of León, in the northwest of Spain. Its location in an area with numerous climatic changes and glacial stages allows it to have a unique natural landscape, with the formation of fluvial terraces and a strong encasement of the riverbeds. The meanders of the river Sil generate a unique orography, creating an incomparable setting for the vineyards in the area.

It is also found in other Galician regions such as Ribiera Sacra and Monterrei or in Castilla Leon, such as the DO Bierzo.  The variety is believed to have originated in the 12th century, although in the 1970s its extension was reduced almost to the point of disappearance. The oldest vineyards of this variety are located in the province of Zamora, near the border with Portugal, where it is known as "Gouveio".

The wine Godello

On the market we usually find the grape in single-varietal wines although it is not uncommon to find it in blends with native white varieties in different Galician areas.

If we had to summarise the style that the variety imprints on the wines, we would speak of wines with good volume on the palate, ripe citrus and seed fruit sensations on the nose, good acidity and a characteristic mineral touch in the more direct examples and from soils with more personality.

In the Godello universe, there are two quite different styles in the winery's management of the winemakers when it comes to imagining the wine they want to launch on the market.

The first style is more direct, lighter, seeking the subtlety of the primary aromas and seeking to preserve, as far as the ripeness of the grapes allows, a sharper, more acidic and mineral profile. Perhaps easier to find on the Galician side.

A second, more voluminous style, where the management of the lees and the oak contribute fat, unctuousness, complexity and enhance that inherent side of the variety of a certain power in the mouth and concentration of flavours. The ideal style for those who are looking for more strength in the mouth and more mature and creamy aromas and flavours.

Both styles coexist in the market and even within the same winery, clearly demonstrating the versatility of the variety. In both cases we find examples capable of battling with time and being enjoyed after several years in bottle in top form. Here are 2 fantastic practical examples:

Luar do Sil Godello

LUAR [(From Galician)] Moon Shine.

Founded in 2014 in the Ourense village of Seadur, O Luar do Sil is the Galician project of the Rodero Villa family (Pago de los Capellanes).

This family has sought in recent years to produce a white wine with their philosophy: a special, complex and intense wine, with long ageing. This search led them to the Galician appellation of origin of Valdeorras. Its river, the Sil, sculpts a valley with slate and granite soils and a unique climate.

Luar do Sil, the winery's youngest and most direct production, is a great example of this more straightforward, primary, refreshing style, which combines a certain volume and fruit on the attack with the characteristic minerality and acidity of the variety.

Mauro Godello 2018

In this case we go all the way to Bierzo, from Leon lands we get this Godello. One of the best examples of Godello aged in oak, creamy, elegant and complex.

The García family, experts in the production of red wines, has been surprising us with great whites for only four years. 2013 was the first vintage of this Mauro Godello, which was launched on the market with only 1,000 bottles. This is a limited-production wine produced in two estates located in Villafranca del Bierzo, although it is vinified in Tudela de Duero, under the Vinos de la Tierra de Castilla y León appellation. It is a white wine for ageing, and it can be enjoyed over the next few years in order to check its evolution.

Godello is coming...

Con todo, la godello está aumentando su protagonismo en los últimos años y está en cierto modo siendo redescubierta, como ocurre con otras variedades autóctonas. Juega a favor de esta variedad su mayor capacidad de envejecimiento en barrica de madera, dando lugar a blancos de larga guarda de características muy especiales, complejos y elegantes. No en vano ejemplos como Sorte O Soro de Rafa Palacios (2016 98 Puntos Parker) ya está en el olimpo de los grandes blancos del mundo, y con ello los ojos de todos los grandes prescriptores giran cada vez mas la vista al este desde Rias Baixas a la zona mas oriental de Galicia en busca de esta uva.

La Godello ha venido para quedarse, así que ya tenéis otra alternativa de vino blanco sobre todo cuando busquéis un vino gallego. Ocupe o no el trono, no perdais mas tiempo sin descubrirla.