Spain: Telmo Rodriguez - Gaba do Xil Godello 2024/2025, Valdeorras, Galicia (Organic)

Read Alex's Producer Profile on Telmo Rodriguez

Grape variety: mostly Godello but also a few other indigenous varieties such as Doña Blanca and Treixadura. Farmed organically. 13.5% alcohol. 

Remove from the fridge around 10 minutes before serving. 

To quote Telmo Rodriguez (winemaker): "Gaba do Xil is produced with organic, ancestral farming, and low intervention in a polyculture setting." 

I am indeed obsessed with this wine. It is something of a mouthful - both to pronounce and to drink. Gaba do Xil refers to the “hillsides of the river Xil”, a rugged landscape in the Valdeorras region of Galicia, while O Barreiro is the single vineyard from which this wine comes.

Telmo began his pioneering work here in 2002 and has since restored its 16 hectares of old vines. 

Only healthy whole bunches are hand harvested in small crates. They are gently pressed, and the juice is spontaneously fermented by only wild yeasts in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks.

Wild yeasts are those that are naturally present in the vineyard and winery; while fermentation is less predictable, wild (often called indigenous) yeasts are said to boost complexity and to reflect the vineyard's unique character (as opposed to cultured yeasts that are freeze-dried and come in a bag!). 

Post alcoholic fermentation, the wine is racked into different stainless-steel tanks, where it is aged for four months on its fine lees without bâtonnage (i.e. no stirring of the lees).

Lees are the yeast cells that have died after they have converted the sugars into alcohol. No malolactic fermentation (the conversion of malic acid to lactic acid by lactic acid bacteria) takes place to preserve the wine’s natural acidity, and it is bottled unfiltered. 

This very low yielding vineyard produces an expressive, rounded wine; it is beautifully fresh and precise, with citrus pith as well as a savoury streak of salty minerality, and a long, dry finish.

This is a great introduction to the wonders of Godello, which is quite different to its regional and far more ubiquitous rival Albariño - depending on the style in which it's made, it's often more similar to a white from Italy's Alto Adige or Etna, or maybe a Chablis Premier Cru. I just adore this wine with seafood and tapas style dishes. 

Food Pairing:

Tapas, seafood, vegetarian dishes - such as charred leeks, roasted fennel, asparagus with lemon and olive oil - goat’s cheeses, roast chicken or turkey with a creamy sauce. We love this with pan-seared sea bass with lemon butter. 

What the critics say:

92 points (Outstanding: Of Superior Quality & Remarkable Personality) - Wine Advocate

90 points - Wine-Searcher Average Critic Score