Rafael Palacios As Sortes Godello 2024

As Sortes conveys a sense of joy, aromatic intensity stemming from the expression of acidity (grapefruit, Reineta apple, damp boxwood, chestnut blossom…), and rediscovers an appealing mineral touch. Cool terroir and fruit merge in medium-intensity breezes. Here, Godello reveals its bittersweet side; its angular and cool start on the palate is bright, lengthening and lean, before gathering at the finish with a warm, rich coating. It carries the promise of a long life, projecting it towards maturity, where the youthful aspect fades and the mineral strength of the granite emerges. A new release, the 2024 As Sortes Val Do Bibei offers modest, subdued aromatics of dried herb and wet stone. There's tension and minerality from the high altitude and northern exposure of the Godello vines, not to mention the age of the vines, the oldest in the producer's book. A precise, laser-focused wine of integrated acidity that persists throughout the medium-bodied palate, the flavors angle around citrus, apple, and chestnut, with so much freshness from the cooler days and nights the grapes get to enjoy at this higher elevation. Fermented in barrel and aged another eight months in oak, it's just gorgeous. Drink now through 2036.