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Average Review Score: 4.9
Average Review Score: 4.9
Rafael Palacios As Sortes Val do Bibei Valdeorras Godello 2021
Bottles Available:
1 × 75cl
- Rafael Palacios As Sortes Val do Bibei Valdeorras Godello 2021
- Rafael Palacios History
- Rafael Palacios Current & Past Cellar Masters
Since starting his own winery in 2004, Rafael Palacios has fast become one of Spain’s pre-eminent producers of white wine. His 32 parcels of Godello, which are spread over 19.5 hectares in the Val do Bibei in Valdeorras, Galicia, produce some of Spain’s most interesting white wines. The vines are planted on steep hills turned into terraces buttressed by stones. Rafa’s viticulture is sensitive to the fragile nature of these old terraces, and he has adapted his approach to ensure these magnificent structures are preserved. His viticulture is low intervention, with some of the older plots (or ‘sortes’ in Galician) being farmed biodynamically.
Vineyard: The `As Sortes Val do Bibei` is made with grapes from six small ‘sortes’ planted in the late 1970's and early 1980's, which are some of the oldest vineyards owned by Rafael Palacios. The vines were planted with a selection of cuttings, taken during the recovery plan in the late 1970s in a successful attempt to revive and retain what were then varieties at risk of extinction. Located in Santa Cruz do Bolo on the north side of the Bibei Valley, the soils here are pure granite sand. These low fertile soils and the altitude of over 680 meters result in low yields and produce wines with character reflective of the location.
Vinification: The grapes are pressed and the must is fermented in 500 litre French oak barrels. The wine then remains in barrel and is aged on lees for eight months prior to bottling.
Weather: The 2021 vintage was characterised by a cold and slightly rainy winter, with budding taking place slightly later than usual, between the end of April and the beginning of May in some parcels. Spring was also cold with a moderate amount of rain, followed by a mild, dry summer. The end of August brought heavy rains, which arrived again in the second week of September. This delayed the harvest until the first weeks of October, ending on the 28th of November. The wine shows excellent freshness and acidity.
Technical Information:
Grape Varieties: 100% Godello
Region: Galicia, Northwest Spain
Vintage: 2021
Residual Sugar: 2.1g/L
Acidity: 7.54g/L
pH: 3.14
Closure: Natural Cork
Alcohol: 14.5%
Tasting Note: The super elegant and austere 2021 As Sortes has a sense of harmony and subtleness that is moving. I found great purity, precision and symmetry in the wine. It has marked granite sensations in the palate; it's very tasty, long, fine-grained and textured, with the cold texture of the year. Palacios compared 2021 with 2012, which was very cold and dry before the harvest. It has to be one of the most elegant vintages of As Sortes. - Tasted by Luis Gutiérrez
Vineyard: The `As Sortes Val do Bibei` is made with grapes from six small ‘sortes’ planted in the late 1970's and early 1980's, which are some of the oldest vineyards owned by Rafael Palacios. The vines were planted with a selection of cuttings, taken during the recovery plan in the late 1970s in a successful attempt to revive and retain what were then varieties at risk of extinction. Located in Santa Cruz do Bolo on the north side of the Bibei Valley, the soils here are pure granite sand. These low fertile soils and the altitude of over 680 meters result in low yields and produce wines with character reflective of the location.
Vinification: The grapes are pressed and the must is fermented in 500 litre French oak barrels. The wine then remains in barrel and is aged on lees for eight months prior to bottling.
Weather: The 2021 vintage was characterised by a cold and slightly rainy winter, with budding taking place slightly later than usual, between the end of April and the beginning of May in some parcels. Spring was also cold with a moderate amount of rain, followed by a mild, dry summer. The end of August brought heavy rains, which arrived again in the second week of September. This delayed the harvest until the first weeks of October, ending on the 28th of November. The wine shows excellent freshness and acidity.
Technical Information:
Grape Varieties: 100% Godello
Region: Galicia, Northwest Spain
Vintage: 2021
Residual Sugar: 2.1g/L
Acidity: 7.54g/L
pH: 3.14
Closure: Natural Cork
Alcohol: 14.5%
Tasting Note: The super elegant and austere 2021 As Sortes has a sense of harmony and subtleness that is moving. I found great purity, precision and symmetry in the wine. It has marked granite sensations in the palate; it's very tasty, long, fine-grained and textured, with the cold texture of the year. Palacios compared 2021 with 2012, which was very cold and dry before the harvest. It has to be one of the most elegant vintages of As Sortes. - Tasted by Luis Gutiérrez
Rafael Palacios began his personal project in 2004, in the sub-zone of the Bibei Valley, municipality of O Bolo, D.O. Valdeorras, buying old vines of the region´s Godello grape variety to ancient vinegrowers.
The extreme orography and low-yielding poor soils, the phylloxera and the depression of the 1920s, had forced growers to leave aside almost completely this small but historic vinegrowing región of Valdeorras.Mainly cultivated in terraces, these small plots known as ‘Sorte’ in Galician, were inhereted by these vinegrowers by draw, (Sorteo).
These parcels, are located in the most western part of the region, at the foot of the Ourense central massif, where the geological past of the region, has been strongly influenced by the source materials, the granite rock, mainly in its own morphology and phiyscal characteristics. These are Sandy soils, formed by the natural degradation of granite rock and the presence of quartz schists.
They are unfertile soils, acidic and easily eroded. For this reason, light drilling machinery has been specially adapted in order to preserve the structure of the terraces, as well as the incorporation of traditional work with animals thus recovering traditional viticultural practices and preserving the historic landscape of the Bibei Valley.
Currently the property consists of 32 plots, with a total area of 24,5 hectares of Godello, which enjoy a continental climate of Atlantic influence. Located on the right bank of the Bibei river, its altitudes ranges from 620 to 740 metres, being the municipality of O Bolo the highest altitude in the región.
Rafael Palacios personally oversees the viticulture and winemaking. He constantly strives to respect the identity of O Bolo and maximize the purity of expression of his wines.
The extreme orography and low-yielding poor soils, the phylloxera and the depression of the 1920s, had forced growers to leave aside almost completely this small but historic vinegrowing región of Valdeorras.Mainly cultivated in terraces, these small plots known as ‘Sorte’ in Galician, were inhereted by these vinegrowers by draw, (Sorteo).
These parcels, are located in the most western part of the region, at the foot of the Ourense central massif, where the geological past of the region, has been strongly influenced by the source materials, the granite rock, mainly in its own morphology and phiyscal characteristics. These are Sandy soils, formed by the natural degradation of granite rock and the presence of quartz schists.
They are unfertile soils, acidic and easily eroded. For this reason, light drilling machinery has been specially adapted in order to preserve the structure of the terraces, as well as the incorporation of traditional work with animals thus recovering traditional viticultural practices and preserving the historic landscape of the Bibei Valley.
Currently the property consists of 32 plots, with a total area of 24,5 hectares of Godello, which enjoy a continental climate of Atlantic influence. Located on the right bank of the Bibei river, its altitudes ranges from 620 to 740 metres, being the municipality of O Bolo the highest altitude in the región.
Rafael Palacios personally oversees the viticulture and winemaking. He constantly strives to respect the identity of O Bolo and maximize the purity of expression of his wines.
Cellar Master: Rafael Palacio
Winery Location: Val do Bibei in Valdeorras, Galicia - Spain (North West)
Wine Region: Valdeorras, Galicia
Annual Production (bottles): 350,000
Cellar Master History at Rafael Palacios:
Rafael Palacios - 2004 to current
Rafael Palacios comes from the Palacios Remondo family, a well-known family in Spanish winemaking. His older brother, Álvaro Palacios, is a celebrated winemaker famous for his work in Priorat and Bierzo. Rafael had a passion for white wines, which was unusual for his family, and this led him to pursue a career focused on them. He studied oenology at Bordeaux in the early 1990s. Palacios worked at his family's winery in Rioja and created the groundbreaking white Rioja called Plácet, which emphasized fresh fruit over heavy oak. He developed a passion for white wines while working in Australia in 1994 and later in 1996, he discovered the high-quality Godello grape. In 2004, he moved to the remote Valdeorras region in Galicia to establish his own eponymous winery. Palacios set out to change perceptions of Spanish white wines by focusing on the native Godello grape. He acquired small, high-altitude plots with old-vine Godello in the Val do Bibei, emphasizing the unique terroir of sandy, granite-derived soils and steep, terraced vineyards. He employs sustainable and partially biodynamic farming methods in the fragile vineyards.
His flagship wine, As Sortes, is a single-varietal Godello made from these old vines, and it showcases the potential of the Valdeorras region.
Winery Location: Val do Bibei in Valdeorras, Galicia - Spain (North West)
Wine Region: Valdeorras, Galicia
Annual Production (bottles): 350,000
Cellar Master History at Rafael Palacios:
Rafael Palacios - 2004 to current
Rafael Palacios comes from the Palacios Remondo family, a well-known family in Spanish winemaking. His older brother, Álvaro Palacios, is a celebrated winemaker famous for his work in Priorat and Bierzo. Rafael had a passion for white wines, which was unusual for his family, and this led him to pursue a career focused on them. He studied oenology at Bordeaux in the early 1990s. Palacios worked at his family's winery in Rioja and created the groundbreaking white Rioja called Plácet, which emphasized fresh fruit over heavy oak. He developed a passion for white wines while working in Australia in 1994 and later in 1996, he discovered the high-quality Godello grape. In 2004, he moved to the remote Valdeorras region in Galicia to establish his own eponymous winery. Palacios set out to change perceptions of Spanish white wines by focusing on the native Godello grape. He acquired small, high-altitude plots with old-vine Godello in the Val do Bibei, emphasizing the unique terroir of sandy, granite-derived soils and steep, terraced vineyards. He employs sustainable and partially biodynamic farming methods in the fragile vineyards.
His flagship wine, As Sortes, is a single-varietal Godello made from these old vines, and it showcases the potential of the Valdeorras region.
96/100
“The super elegant and austere 2021 As Sortes has a sense of harmony and subtleness that is moving. I found great purity, precision and symmetry in the wine. It has marked granite sensations in the palate; it's very tasty, long, fine-grained and textured, with the cold texture of the year. Palacios compared 2021 with 2012, which was very cold and dry before the harvest. It has to be one of the most elegant vintages of As Sortes.”
94/100
“The 2021 Godello As Sortes is sourced from micro-plots in the O Bolo area, Valdeorras and aged for eight months in barrel on lees. Green with a golden sheen, this falls into the oxidative Godello category, with appealing notes of green apple and herbs complemented by a hint of hops and faint oak. Rich, concentrated and refreshing, heightened acidity unleashes energy on the palate, providing a precise, long-lasting, vibrant mouthfeel and a vivid experience.”
16.5/20
“Firm Godello structure, good acidity but even a second bottle failed to thrill me the way earlier vintages have done. Long and perhaps just too young?”
