2023 Casar de Burbia - Godello Valdepineiro Fermentado en Barrica (750ml)

Casar de Burbia is a family-run winery in the Bierzo region of northwestern Spain, based in Valtuille de Arriba. Winemaker Isidro Fernández farms the estate's vineyards organically, drawing on the area's ancient terraced hillsides and slate soils long overlooked before Bierzo's recent rediscovery. The domaine has built its reputation on precise, terroir-driven whites and reds, with particular attention paid to single-vineyard bottlings that showcase the region's mineral character.

This wine comes from Valdepiñeiro, a single high-elevation parcel of old, bush-trained Godello vines planted on clay soils threaded with quartz, iron, and slate. The grapes are hand-harvested, chilled on arrival, and given a brief skin maceration before pressing. Fermentation begins in stainless steel and finishes in used French oak barrels of 500 and 600 liters, where the wine ages on its lees for close to a year before a further seven months in steel.

The nose offers mandarin peel, grapefruit, and white flowers layered over a distinct mineral edge drawn from the vineyard's stony soils. On the palate it is long and complex, with bright acidity balancing a subtly textured mid-palate from its time in oak. This Godello pairs nicely with grilled octopus, roast pork loin, or aged sheep's-milk cheese.