Spains viticultural riches remain a well-guarded secret. It is only recently that wine drinkers have begun to hear about grape varieties never mentioned before i.e menzia and godello; the former red, the latter white.
The country has hundreds of grape varieties that were close to extinction, and by luck or through the efforts of interested and caring growers and/or winemakers, have been reviewed.
Some of Spain’s indigenous grape varieties i.e garnacha (Ggrenache), monastrell (mourvedre), carinena (carignane), tempranillo (tinto roriz), loureiro were imported by the French, and Portuguese and made famous internationally.
One of the forgotten white grape varieties is godello, which was headed to extinction int eh 1900’s shortly after phylloxera vastatrix arrived late in the 19th century in north-western Spain.
Godello, much like riesling, is a unique variety that reflects terroir, if well maintained and pruned appropriately. It offers a herbal, and apple aromas, has good acidity, is full-bodied and tastes of minerals.
Godello likes soils covered with slate, but must be planted in regions with cool growing seasons. It must be harvested when acidity is at its peak, as sugar development is rapid and would overpower the acidity.
Godello possesses the capacity to age well like chardonnay in Burgundy, riesling in Germany, and bical in Portugal.
It grows best in Bierzo, Rias Baixas and Ribeiro, all in northwestern Spain close to the Atlantic Ocean.
Roman naturalist and author Pliny the Elder (23 – 79 AD), knew about godello and write about it when Romans ruled the Iberian Peninsula and called the region Bergidum Flavium, which is Bierzo today.
Approximately 3000 hectares of godello vineyards exist today in Spain, and none elsewhere in the world. It blends well with albarino and provides structure to the wine.
This unique grape can be barrel- or stainless steel fermented, and barrel aged. It benefits from bottle age too.
Some winemakers manage to vinify godello to a relatively high alcohol level, without sacrificing underlying acidity. It then tastes savoury and smooth.
Godello can be enjoyed young if vinifid with that objective in mind, but also barrel-fermented an barrel aged for a suitably long time for longevity and cellaring potential.

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Tags: GODELLO, Grape, Spanish

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 06:00 and is filed under Food & Wine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.