Winemaker Notes
Fresh and lively, this yellow-hued white wine delivers a granitic punch on the nose. Sensations of bay leaf, white peach, and crystallized ginger dance on the palate with a salty, thirst-quenching finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A fruity white with sliced apple, honey and some pear undertones. It’s medium-bodied with tangy fruit and a flavorful finish. Some dried pineapple and honey at the end.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The white 2019 Gaba do Xil Branco was produced with Godello and some other white grapes from a number of vineyards located between 400 and 500 meters in altitude on red clay and slate soils. This fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel vats, where it matured with the lees for four months. These whites show very reductive when young and only start showing well one year after bottling, so at this early stage, you need to guide yourself by the palate rather than the nose. The palate is super granitic, with that chalky dryness and the tasty finish that is almost salty. This year, it's more granite-like than Godello. 2019 is going to be a very good vintage for whites.
Rating:91+ -
Decanter
Classic nose of honey, lemon zest and creamy lees notes. Invigorating on the palate, with a stony finish.
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.