Winemaker Notes
Gaba do Xil O Barreiro is a white wine produced from a single 16ha estate vineyard located at 400-500m in altitude, near the town of Larouco, which lies south of the Sil River with an Atlantic influence due to its location in a valley that forms an outlet to the sea. It expresses the Atlantic character of this part of Valdeorras through its native varieties farmed organically and grown on red slate and clay soils. 2021 is the first vintage for the O Barreiro vineyard selection from Gaba do Xil, with very low yields and reduced volume, it is an incredibly expressive, mineral wine with a complex structure. O Barreiro is fresh and precise, with salty minerality and a long, dry finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
This is the “village-level” wine from a project launched by Pablo Eguzkiza and Telmo Rodríguez in 2002, on terraces above the Bibei River, close to Ribera Sacra. The certified-organic vineyards are now farmed by Jorge Saa, who makes this powerful godello that starts out rich and gets racier with air. Bosky apple scents and a machine-oil minerality lend it a nuanced beauty.
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.