Winemaker Notes
The Godello is from three sites in the village of Valtuille de Abajo, though 90% of the fruit in this vintage actually comes from one north-facing site. The ultimate focus here is on preserving acidity, so this wine is picked on the knife edge of ripeness.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The white 2022 Ultreia Godello is a blend of five different plots, most of them in Cacabelos. It has a very expressive nose, with notes of yellow fruit, flowers and white pepper. It's round and fleshy, with moderate ripeness and alcohol (around 12.5%), a little balsamic with the tender mouthfeel from the riper year. It had different vinifications and élevages and comes through as complex and balanced, quite impressive for the year.
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Vinous
The 2022 Godello Ultreia from Bierzo, primarily Cacabelos, began as purchased grapes in 2014 and is now estate-owned. Pale yellow in hue, the 2022 offers acacia and linden aromas with hints of apple and dried orange peel. It is creamy, defined and lightly oily, maintaining agility and precision with bright acidity and a mineral backbone.
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).
One of the few northwestern Spanish regions with a focus on a red variety, Bierzo, part of Castilla y León, is home to the flowery and fruity Mencia grape. Mencia produces balanced and bright red wines full of strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate, baking spice, pepper and black licorice. The well-drained soils of Bierzo are slate and granite.