Godello
The grape that came back from the dead in Valdeorras. Broader and rounder than Albariño, with white fruit, minerality and the stuffing for the table.
Godello is Spanish wine’s great resurrection story. By the 1970s it was all but extinct in Valdeorras (Ourense): it covered 0.005% of the vineyard, a handful of vines. A recovery project named RE.VI.VAL, led by Horacio Fernández Presa with the Godeval winery as its flagship, carried out clonal selection, rescued the best plants and proved that this forgotten grape could make great whites. Today it’s one of Spain’s most fashionable grapes.
Against Albariño’s citrus edge, Godello plays with more body: it’s round and unctuous, all white fruit (apple, melon), with a mineral undertow and a balanced acidity that never scratches. It handles oak and lees ageing well, so it gives everything from fresh young whites to serious, age-worthy ones. Its home is Valdeorras, but it also shines in Bierzo, Ribeira Sacra and Ribeiro. It’s the white that sits down at the table and keeps up with the food.