Godello

Godello is a white wine grape native to north-west Spain and the flagship variety of Galicia's Valdeorras and El Bierzo, a grape rescued from the brink of extinction in the 1970s that has become one of the country's most admired whites. It yields a dry, textured and structured wine of real substance — stone fruit and citrus over a stony, saline minerality drawn from the region's slate soils — with the body and backbone to take oak and extended lees ageing. Made unoaked it is crisp and mineral, with green apple, pear and a salty edge; barrel-fermented and aged on its lees it turns richer and creamier, gaining weight, nutty depth and a long finish. Often compared to white Burgundy for its balance of fruit, texture and acidity, it is the grape behind some of Spain's most age-worthy whites. The same variety is grown in northern Portugal under the name Gouveio.