Bodegas Valdesil Valderroa Mencia 2011

It all began in 1885 when an ancestor of the Prada family, passionately believing in the nobility of the Godello grape variety, planted the first vines on the high, slatey hillsides of the Sil valley. The winemaking tradition of the family originated with the beloved person of José Ramón Gayoso, vinegrower at Portela. Contrary to the custom of the time he established the first vineyard planted entirely with Godello, being convinced of the potential of this variety, which is native to Valdeorras. Little by little he expanded these small parcels of vines, or ‘Pezas’, carefully choosing the best sites around and about Portela. In subsequent years many of these parcels were sold to other growers, leaving only the Pedrouzos estate. In 2001 the current generation of the family began to buy back the small vineyards which had belonged to their forebear, spurred on by the possibilities offered by the grape variety, the special qualities of the Valdeorras region, and the lasting influence of that original pioneer who went against the spirit of the age in planting Pedrouzos, the oldest Godello vineyard in Galicia.