Collection: Godello

Godello is a white grape variety with roots in northwestern Spain, particularly in Galicia. The variety came close to extinction in the 1970s, but has since been revived and today earns international recognition as one of Spain's distinctive white grapes. With us, all wines from Godello come from Spain, and specifically from Ribeira Sacra, one of the areas where the grape is permitted and thrives.

Godello is an official variety in several Galician and neighbouring appellations, among them Valdeorras, Ribeira Sacra, Ribeiro, Monterrei, Rías Baixas and Bierzo. Valdeorras is regarded as a particularly characterful area for the variety and lies behind some of its most expressive wines. In Monterrei the grape is also known under the name Verdello. It is often grown in high-altitude vineyards on soils of slate and granite, and the slow ripening at altitude helps give the wines aromatic depth.

Compared with Albariño, Godello gives higher yields and is at the same time more flexible when it comes to barrel ageing. The grape thrives in a dry climate and can produce structured, taut white wines with a mineral character, full texture and a touch of spice. You find it both as a blending grape, for example in smaller proportions together with Albariño and Doña Blanca in Rías Baixas, and in Ribeiro, and as a pure varietal, where the first single-variety Godello wines saw the light of day in 1986.

In the cellar you encounter many approaches. Some wines are fermented and aged in steel tank, others in barrels of both American and French oak as well as acacia, and ageing on lees (bærme) is used to add body. In Valdeorras a few places work with flor yeast, and certain wines undergo long bottle ageing, in cases over 50 months. In traditional production you still see ungrafted bush vines planted in 1920 and fermentation on the skins in open vats. Godello is moreover part of the sweet Ribeiro Tostado wines and is made in rare cases as a late harvest.

If you want to explore the variety, Ribeira Sacra is a fine place to begin, if you are fond of mineral, fresh white wines with character.