Winemaker Notes
Shows ripe yellow fruits caressed, but not overwhelmed, by French oak creaminess. Medium-bodied with delicate minerality and an elegant, complex finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This shows chamomile, green mango and subtle fruit aromas. The palate is textured and pleasant with volume, but it’s not excessive at all. This is from a single four-hectare vineyard in the town of A Rua. It finishes fermentation in a 2,500-liter foudre.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Ceibo, the Godello from Valdeorras, has a balsamic nose with notes of bay leaf and ripe yellow fruit. It is ripe at 14% alcohol and has a medium acidity but good overall balance. It matured in oak foudre for seven months, but the oak is neatly integrated, just giving it a creamy and spicy twist.
Rating: 92+
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.