Sangarida Godello 2020

Close your eyes and think of ten quality wine varieties indigenous to Spain (and Portugal). Was Tempranillo top of your list? How many white grapes could you recall? Palomino? Albariño? How about Godello? If Godello didn’t immediately come to mind, then you haven’t been drinking it often enough. And nowadays good examples of Godello are getting easier to find.

But it wasn’t always like that. A few decades ago, Godello was on the brink of extinction. Growers in the northwestern part of Spain had been replacing traditional Godello vineyards with more productive vines. Then, in the 1980s, a group of talented winemakers recognized that if they didn’t do something to save Godello, they would lose part of their viticultural heritage.

Once these winemakers started planting vines and producing stellar Godello wines, other producers in the region took note and soon dedicated greater space in their vineyards to the varietal as well. Today Godello can be found in vineyards throughout the region including such appellations as Valdeorras in Galicia and nearby Bierzo in Castile and León.

The Godello for this Sangarida comes from 20-year-old vineyards on the slopes of the Aquilianos mountain range, at 600M elevation, in Bierzo. As is still common in that part of Spain, the vines are trained on trellises. If you are a fan of a Chablis style Chardonnay, you will enjoy this fresh, medium-bodied wine with lively aromas and flavours of grapefruit, lemon zest, pear and a pleasing minerality on the finish.