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Buy Wine from Bodegas Valdesil
The Valdeorras region, located at the eastern end of the province of Ourense, in Galicia, has long remained in the background on the Spanish wine map. But whoever has set foot on its slate soils, whoever has felt on their skin that mixture of Atlantic humidity and continental sun, knows that something exceptional is grown here. It is no coincidence that the Valdesil winery has put this corner of Galicia on the radar of the most demanding international wine tasters. And it all starts with one grape: Godello.
The origin of Valdesil and the defence of the Godello grape
The history of Valdesil is inseparable from this white variety that today many consider to be one of the world's great grapes. For decades it was ignored, even uprooted, in favour of more productive varieties. The Prada family, the founders of Valdesil, did not allow themselves to be seduced by fashions. In 1885, his ancestor José Ramón Gayoso planted Godello in the Pedrouzos plot, today considered the oldest Godello vineyard in the world. This fidelity to the autochthonous is the backbone of the project.
A soil that shapes the character of the wine
The soils of Valdeorras are a miniature geological map. The upper slopes are dominated by poor, draining black slate; in the lower areas of the Sil valley, there is more clay and humidity. The Godello responds with surgical precision to each variation. In slate it is more vertical and sharp; in clay, more enveloping, with hints of ripe fruit and dry hay.
The climate is a demanding ally. Despite being in Galicia, Valdeorras does not respond to the rainy cliché. The altitude (300-700 metres), the valley's boxed-in nature and the continental influence mark a vegetative cycle of uncertain springs, dry summers and autumns that make it necessary to harvest quickly. Water stress and temperature fluctuations favour slow ripening, ideal for wines with structure and acidity.
Pezas da Portela - A symphony of micro-parcels
Valdesil has been able to read this invisible map of the soil and segment its wines according to altitude, exposure and minerality. Its range of whites is not based on cellar artifices, but on a meticulous interpretation of the vineyard. Pezas da Portela is an example of this philosophy: a choral composition of small pieces, each vinified separately and then assembled. On the nose, fresh white fruit, grapefruit and lemon peel; on the palate, a saline, precise, vibrant texture. It is a wine that speaks softly, but leaves its mark.
Mencía - A red wine with nerve and sobriety
Godello is not the only protagonist. Valdesil also works with Mencía, although from a more sober interpretation than the fruity exuberance attributed to it in other regions. Here, the Mencía is expressed with nerve: sour cherry, graphite, earthy undertones. In its most careful version, such as Valderroa Carballo, aged in used barrels, there is tension between fruit and earth, freshness and gravity. It is a red wine with a long passage, without make-up.
Fifth generation - Continuity and precision
Today, Victoria and Borja Prada, the fifth generation, take over the reins of the project with the same approach: respect for the old goblet-trained vineyards, minimal intervention in the winery, and an almost scientific obsession with understanding each plot. At a time of industrialisation of Galician wine, Valdesil is committed to identity as opposed to standardisation.
Some people think that Godello has already reached its zenith. Valdesil proves the opposite: that the same grape, in the same soil, can still speak differently if you listen to it better. Here, innovation lies in rediscovering what has always been there: mountain viticulture, smallholdings, rural wisdom.
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Buy Wine from Bodegas Valdesil
The Valdeorras region, located at the eastern end of the province of Ourense, in Galicia, has long remained in the background on the Spanish wine map. But whoever has set foot on its slate soils, whoever has felt on their skin that mixture of Atlantic humidity and continental sun, knows that something exceptional is grown here. It is no coincidence that the Valdesil winery has put this corner of Galicia on the radar of the most demanding international wine tasters. And it all starts with one grape: Godello.
The origin of Valdesil and the defence of the Godello grape
The history of Valdesil is inseparable from this white variety that today many consider to be one of the world's great grapes. For decades it was ignored, even uprooted, in favour of more productive varieties. The Prada family, the founders of Valdesil, did not allow themselves to be seduced by fashions. In 1885, his ancestor José Ramón Gayoso planted Godello in the Pedrouzos plot, today considered the oldest Godello vineyard in the world. This fidelity to the autochthonous is the backbone of the project.
A soil that shapes the character of the wine
The soils of Valdeorras are a miniature geological map. The upper slopes are dominated by poor, draining black slate; in the lower areas of the Sil valley, there is more clay and humidity. The Godello responds with surgical precision to each variation. In slate it is more vertical and sharp; in clay, more enveloping, with hints of ripe fruit and dry hay.
The climate is a demanding ally. Despite being in Galicia, Valdeorras does not respond to the rainy cliché. The altitude (300-700 metres), the valley's boxed-in nature and the continental influence mark a vegetative cycle of uncertain springs, dry summers and autumns that make it necessary to harvest quickly. Water stress and temperature fluctuations favour slow ripening, ideal for wines with structure and acidity.
Pezas da Portela - A symphony of micro-parcels
Valdesil has been able to read this invisible map of the soil and segment its wines according to altitude, exposure and minerality. Its range of whites is not based on cellar artifices, but on a meticulous interpretation of the vineyard. Pezas da Portela is an example of this philosophy: a choral composition of small pieces, each vinified separately and then assembled. On the nose, fresh white fruit, grapefruit and lemon peel; on the palate, a saline, precise, vibrant texture. It is a wine that speaks softly, but leaves its mark.
Mencía - A red wine with nerve and sobriety
Godello is not the only protagonist. Valdesil also works with Mencía, although from a more sober interpretation than the fruity exuberance attributed to it in other regions. Here, the Mencía is expressed with nerve: sour cherry, graphite, earthy undertones. In its most careful version, such as Valderroa Carballo, aged in used barrels, there is tension between fruit and earth, freshness and gravity. It is a red wine with a long passage, without make-up.
Fifth generation - Continuity and precision
Today, Victoria and Borja Prada, the fifth generation, take over the reins of the project with the same approach: respect for the old goblet-trained vineyards, minimal intervention in the winery, and an almost scientific obsession with understanding each plot. At a time of industrialisation of Galician wine, Valdesil is committed to identity as opposed to standardisation.
Some people think that Godello has already reached its zenith. Valdesil proves the opposite: that the same grape, in the same soil, can still speak differently if you listen to it better. Here, innovation lies in rediscovering what has always been there: mountain viticulture, smallholdings, rural wisdom.