Rafael Palacios As Sortes Godello 2021
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Parker
Robert
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
As Sortes is made from old vines that are located within six sortes in the northern end of the Bibei Valley that were planted in the late 1970s and early 1980s. These parcels are worked organically with some elements of biodynamics as well. The grapes are fermented and aged in mostly used 500 L oak barrels for 8 months. Compared to the Louro, this is a wine that stands up tall in its refinement and presence on the palate, but also shows some added complexity and aromatic development with aeration or additional time in bottle.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The super elegant and austere 2021 As Sortes has a sense of harmony and subtleness that is moving. I found great purity, precision and symmetry in the wine. It has marked granite sensations in the palate; it's very tasty, long, fine-grained and textured, with the cold texture of the year. Palacios compared 2021 with 2012, which was very cold and dry before the harvest. It has to be one of the most elegant vintages of As Sortes.
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Rafael Palacios began his wine project in Valdeorras in 2004, purchasing mature vineyards of the indigenous Godello variety from older local growers. His previous experience in the area as a consultant had motivated him to try and recuperate the unique sub-zone of the Bibei Valley in the Municipality of O Bolo.
The extreme topography and the low productivity of the soil had led to the almost complete abandonment of grape production in this tiny but historic county, cultivated traditionally on terraces. The predominance of small plots is the result of inheritances drawn by lot, often out of a hat, called "Sorte" in the Galician language and the inspiration for the name As Sortes.
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).
Just to the south of Bierzo, the steeply terraced Valdeorras Spanish wine region is a respected source of both red and white wines. Garnacha Tintorera (Alicante Bouschet) and Mencía are the principal red varieties while Godello and Palomino compose the majority of this region's whites.