Rafael Palacios Louro Do Bolo Godello 2022
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Robert
Parker
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Winemaker Notes
Louro do Bolo is made from Rafa’s younger vine parcels, and is fermented naturally in 35 hl foudres and aged on the fine lees for 4 months before bottling. The result is a wine that is clear and precise, with a fine mineral core propping up a nicely textured base of fruit. Plump but tense with some exotic notes, this wine is extremely food friendly.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Louro still feels a little reductive and has pungent balsamic notes of bay leaf. It was a very warm year with constant heat and very healthy grapes. It keeps the freshness but still feels the roundness of the year. Most of the grapes were picked before the rain they had in September. It's tasty with a salty twist in the finish. These wines benefit from time in bottle; this 2022 still feels too young and undeveloped to me.
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Rafael Palacios began his wine project in Valdeorras in 2004, purchasing mature vineyards of the indigenous Godello variety from older local growers. His previous experience in the area as a consultant had motivated him to try and recuperate the unique sub-zone of the Bibei Valley in the Municipality of O Bolo.
The extreme topography and the low productivity of the soil had led to the almost complete abandonment of grape production in this tiny but historic county, cultivated traditionally on terraces. The predominance of small plots is the result of inheritances drawn by lot, often out of a hat, called "Sorte" in the Galician language and the inspiration for the name As Sortes.
Godello is native to northwest Spain and has experienced a major revival in the last 20 years. Godello wines are typically sleek and lightly creamy in texture. Barrel fermentation and lees stirring are typical in Valdeorras, Spain where the grape comes from. These winemaking techniques make the most of Godello's inherent structure and help bring out its lovely floral character. Somm Secret—DNA profiling says that Spain’s Godello is actually identical to the Portugese grape variety Gouveio, which grows throughout the Douro and Dão (where it used to mistakenly be called Verdelho).
Just to the south of Bierzo, the steeply terraced Valdeorras Spanish wine region is a respected source of both red and white wines. Garnacha Tintorera (Alicante Bouschet) and Mencía are the principal red varieties while Godello and Palomino compose the majority of this region's whites.