“The whites are always superb”
I already talked on Friday about the fantastic, outstanding, phenomenal, beautifully age-worthy
Gorvia Tinto 2019 from José Luis Mateo… 😉
But he is mainly renowned for his whites: as Parker says: “the Whites are always superb.”
Well then, among those “superb” whites, I’ve got an even rarer variant:
“Verdello Antiguo”.
Ever heard of it? Probably not, unless you are familiar with the patchwork of grape varieties and their many names in Galicia.
Verdello Antiguo is nothing less than the oldest known clone of one of Spain’s most successful white grapes: Godello.
José Luis recovered it from old vines in the Monterrei mountains and crafts his brilliant Verdello Antiguo from it.
See what Gutiérrez says about it for R. Parker:
R. Parker: 95/100
"They have a lot of local names in Monterrei, so understanding the grape varieties can be a challenge. Verdello Antiguo is a very old clone of Godello that he has recovered from a massal selection from the mountain vineyards to produce the 2021 Verdello Antiguo, which is a lot more austere, less aromatic and less fruit-driven, with a subtle nose of pollen, yellow flowers and beeswax. The vines must be close to 25 years old now and were planted on slate and sand. The juice from pressing the full clusters fermented in used 500-liter French oak barrels, where it was kept with the lees for 10 months, followed by 12 more months in stainless steel. It's structured and juicy with good acidity, textured and with great grip. It's a powerful, round and moderately ripe white with 13.28% alcohol and very good freshness reflected by a pH of 3.36. It should age nicely in bottle. This is a completely different Godello.
Tasting the current releases from Quinta da Muradella in Monterrei is always an exciting moment because of the quality and diversity of the wines. It's a little like what Forrest Gump said: it's like opening a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get! The whites are always superb, and I found the reds quite extraordinary too. José Luis Mateo is always changing, redefining and regrafting his vines and wines— getting a better understanding of the plots and varieties and adapting to climate change, complementing the shorter-cycle varieties (like Mencía and Doña Blanca) with medium-cycled ones (like Albarello, Caíño Longo and Treixadura, etc.) and also planting longer-cycle varieties for the future and favoring the soils with more clay and iron that have a better retention of water.
He owns and rents 15 hectares of vineyards; the owned vineyards have been certified organic since 2005. He produces an average of 35,000 bottles per year. Ah, and don't ask him about prices..."
This spring we received the outstanding 2021 vintage – So, would you like one of our rarest white wines, moreover from a unique grape variety, in your cellar? (of course!)
48 precious bottles, to be shared among 8 great wine enthusiasts…
Who dares?