This is probably the best bargain wine available right now in Southwest Michigan, selling for $9 to $10 at D&W Markets or Russo's Wine and Spirits in Grand Rapids. That's less than half its suggested retail price. But what's more important is that this is a very fine wine.
Godello is a traditional white-wine grape of Galicia in northwestern Spain. Because the grape is difficult to grow, it fell out of favor among winemakers for many years but is now making a comeback...and for good reason. It makes wine that is as fat in texture as Chardonnay but with subtle, delicate aromas and a complex array of flavors. This was my first taste of Godello, and it was love at first smell.
Bodegas Valdesil makes several cuvees of Godello, some from vines 140 years old. This Val de Sil comes from 20-year-old vines planted on hillsides at an altitude of 500 meters above sea level. The grapes were harvested by hand and vinified without oak but with some time spent on the lees.
It's a medium light yellow with some green glints. On the nose, it's a bit shy but opens up beautifully--pears, white peaches, spring flowers. In the mouth, it's very full bodied for such an aromatic wine--somewhat like Viognier in this respect. It smells sweet but tastes dry. There is a good mineral touch in the complex flavors and a pleasantly bitter finish that tells me the wine will only get better with some time in the bottle. The makers say it will develop positively over 36 months.
What's to say? I bought a case. And now that I've written this, maybe I should have bought more.
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