2016 Telmo Rodrigues Gaba do Xil
Where: Valdeorras, Spain
Who: Telmo Rodrigues
What: 100% Godello
Tastes like: Lemon and cooked pear, with a creamy, waxy texture and a mildly-tart finish
What to pair with: Soft cheeses, vongole, caccio e pepe.
D.O. Valdeorras is the eastern-most wine zone in Galicia. Garnacha, Palomino and the indigenous Godello and Mencia grapes are extensively planted. If carefully vinified, the wines can be aromatic with an alcoholic strength between 12 and 13%.
Valdeorras is Telmo Rodrigues’s (one of the rising stars of Spanish wine-making) most recent project, though he first seriously visited the area in the 1990’s. In the town of Santa Cruz he found and purchased a vineyard called “La Falcoeira.” It is an ancient vineyard, planted with a mixture of varieties, but Compañía de Vinos Telmo Rodriguez has focused its work on the native varieties, Godello and Mencia. Telmo thinks that the area has enormous potential, and could be one of his great discoveries.
The Godello comprising the Gaba do Xil are grown at approximately 550 meters (1800 ft) in stoney, infertile soils. The yields of the vineyard are therefore very low, but the quality is high. The grapes are harvested by hand, and the first selection of grapes occurs while they are still in the vineyard. The wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks with selected native yeasts. It sees no time in oak, and is bottled and sent to market without aging.
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