94pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

There is a little more oak in the 2020 Valtuille Godello, because they purchased some new 500-liter oak barrels and that's a difference with the 2019. The destemmed grapes were pressed without any maceration, and the juice fermented in 500- and 700-liter French oak barrels where the wine matured with the lees and without bâtonnage for one year. This bottling is a selection of the best barrels, and the rest goes to the blend for the El Castro de Valtuille. It's a little flinty and smoky, a little à la Bourgogne, with some balsamic notes, round and complete, with very tasty flavors and great balance. It's a little riper than the 2019 I tasted next to it, but it also feels deeper and just one step above in everything. This might be the finest white produced here so far. 1,500 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2021.

Winemaker Notes

The grapes are sourced from a west-facing single vineyard ‘El Val’ plated at over 500 metres altitude. The vineyard has a westerly aspect. The soils are very stony clay and the vines are over 25 years old. The grapes are handpicked and destemmed at the winery. The grapes are kept cold in 5,000 litre tanks for 24 hours before direct pressing. The must is then transferred to 700-litre used oak barrels, where the wine ferments with wild yeasts and remains in barrel until bottling five days before the next harvest. The wine is fined with clay and gently press-filtered before bottling.