ULTREIA GODELLO, RAÚL PÉREZ

The Godello is from three sites in the village of Valtuille de Abajo, though 90% of the fruit in this vintage actually comes from one north-facing site. The ultimate focus here is on preserving acidity, as Godello can get blowsy and even a little sloppy if overripened. So this is picked on the knife edge of ripeness, and as such the resulting wine only reaches about 11.8% alcohol.

Raúl Pérez Pereira is universally considered to be one of the world’s most visionary winemakers. Raul decided to study viticulture and oenology, then started working in the family business, and his first vintage was 1994. In 2003, he left his family business and has embarked on his own projects in Bierzo (his native region), Monterrei and Rías Baixas. He claims to have found a balance between early harvesting and long macerations. This allows him to preserve acidity, extract tannins gently and polymerize tannins through the use of natural oxygenation in oak. Pérez no longer uses cooling devices in his winery and his wines are aged either in foudres or used barrels. Over recent years, Raul received multiple praises from some of the most important wine critics in the world.