Pilgrim Godello 2016
-
Spectator
Wine
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Spectator
This fleshy white offers herbal, smoky and savory notes that frame pear and quince flavors. Firm acidity turns a bit tart on the finish, and light tannins add structure. Distinctive and complex. Drink now through 2020.
The vineyard in El Bierzo is planted mostly to bush vines on semi-terraced and sharp slopes of the mountains at an altitude of 1,640-2,297 feet, in soils consisting of quartzite and slate. Vine density varies between 1400 to 2800 in a climate that has Mediterranean and Atlantic influences. Average rainfall is 15 to 27 inches annually. Mencia is the chief variety grown there; a grape that generates powerful wines with marked mineral character. Other varieties like the Garnacha tintorera, Godello and Doña Blanca contribute to the expression and identity of the wines of the Bierzo.
The winery is owned by the Garcia Rodriguez family with Josep Serra and Olga Verde overseeing the oenology and viticultural aspects.
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.