Ultreia, Godello, Bierzo, 2018
Produced from 50% owned and 50% purchased fruit totalling 6-7HA depending on the year. The estate-owned vineyards are in the eastern part of the Bierzo zone, planted on schist and clay soils, from vines averaging 30-35 years old. Harvest here takes place a full 20 days later than in Valtuille, yielding grapes with high natural acidity and only 11-12% potential alcohol, providing excellent blending material. 25% is sourced from Cacabelos on deeper clay-stony soils, and the final 25% from Valtuille where the vineyards have a higher percentage of sand in the soils. All plots are fermented in oak tank and assembled just before bottling. Aging takes place in barrels of various sizes and ages. The estate-owned fruit is aged in the Ultreia cellar where a small layer of flor is allowed to develop before blending and bottling after 12 months with no racking or battonage. “In hot vintages Godello can be very tropical but in 2018 it is much clearer and more serious.” 2018 has yielded a crisp, focused, and citrus driven Godello with mouth-watering freshness. A superb wine for the price. 13% ABV.
critic reviews
2017 was the year of frost, and production was very small. So, we jumped to the entry-level white 2018 Ultreia Godello, which was produced with purchased grapes from different plots and new vineyards (including one in the zone of Ponferrada and also vineyards in Cacabelos and Valtuille), from a mix of soils, slate and clay. This sets the tone of the whites from the vintage: it has perfect ripeness, freshness and harmony and is very clean, with precision and clarity. It's subtly varietal and was fermented in used barriques and used oak foudres of different sizes. They never rack or do batonnage, and they never use sulfur until bottling. It's fuller and more volume, which is compensated by more acidity. The elevage lasts until the next harvest, when they need the oak containers, trying to keep them empty for the shortest amount of time possible. The wine is approachable and a bit gentler, for a wider audience. They produced 26,000 bottles. It was bottled in late August 2019.