Ladera Sagrada Castelo do Papa Godello 2021
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Spirits
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Light green-hued yellow. Tightly focused lemon and pear scents are complemented by deeper melon and peach notes. Lively and focused on the palate, offering vibrant citrus and orchard fruit flavors and a gingery nuance that adds back-end spiciness. Finishes nervy, energetic and long, featuring lingering suggestions of bitter lemon pith and dusty minerals.
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Wine & Spirits
About as pure an evocation of mountain-grown godello as you can find: This is a selection of the top 20 percent of fruit from Ladera Sagrada’s vines on granite and slate terraces at 2,000 feet in elevation; macerated for half a day in stainless steel before fermenting without additions, this sees no malolactic conversion of the acidity. The wine is a little funky, a little sweaty, and quite beautiful, yielding scents of acacia blossoms, notes of kumquat and Buddha’s hand in a minor key. It’s savory and long with the feel of cool slate. Pour it with rabbit braised with olives and herbs.
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Ladera Sagrada has the largest holdings of vineyard land in the Valdeorras appellation, and the bodega makes wine using only the best 20% of its grapes. The rest of the given year’s harvest is sold in bulk to other neighboring producers. Ladera Sagrada can source the best quality of grapes in Valdeorras and it has the ability to make the best wine values because it doesn’t need to buy grapes from other growers. The mineral character of Papa gives the wine a special identity. Godello has a rare ability to age well compared to other Spanish white wines.
Godello is native to northwest Spain and has experienced a major revival in the last 20 years. Godello wines are typically sleek and lightly creamy in texture. Barrel fermentation and lees stirring are typical in Valdeorras, Spain where the grape comes from. These winemaking techniques make the most of Godello's inherent structure and help bring out its lovely floral character. Somm Secret—DNA profiling says that Spain’s Godello is actually identical to the Portugese grape variety Gouveio, which grows throughout the Douro and Dão (where it used to mistakenly be called Verdelho).
Just to the south of Bierzo, the steeply terraced Valdeorras Spanish wine region is a respected source of both red and white wines. Garnacha Tintorera (Alicante Bouschet) and Mencía are the principal red varieties while Godello and Palomino compose the majority of this region's whites.