Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A tight and reserved godello that's minerally and zesty. Squeezed lemons, seashells, reductive lees and a touch of white nuts. Give it time in the glass to let the minerality grow on the palate. Bone-dry and lightly saline, with excellent tension and sharp, mineral-coated white fruit. Acid-driven finish. So delicious now, even it is a bit closed.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
There is a smoky twist in the 2021 Ultreia La Claudina, a low-yielding vintage, from a plot in Valtuille on sandy soils. The grapes struggled to ripen, and the wine has a more austere profile than the wines from yesteryear, when it was a lot more exotic and exuberant but with a spicy twist that they reckon comes from the foudre used. It's from one of the oldest plots from the newer plantings in the 1980s. 1,300 bottles produced.
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.