One Spanish white grape I’ve written quite a bit about is Godello, a high quality grape from Galicia in northwestern Spain.  My all-time favorite Godello is As Sortes by Rafael Palacios, a wine I’ve rated and written about a couple of times.  Rafael Palacios is very passionate about Godello and determined to make world class wines out of the grape…something he’s already done.  Today’s wine is As Sortes little sister, Louro do Bolo, a delicious Godello that is much more approachable and also half the price!  I love the As Sortes, but it is so intense steely, and complex that it is not the friendliest wine before it gets some air.  The Louro do Bolo is much more round and aromatic from the beginning, albeit less complex.  It offers aromas of lees, pineapple and lemon in the nose, as well as a bit of smokiness and oak spice.  In the mouth it has all those aromas as well as really fresh acidity.  It’s a really great example of Godello at a really friendly price:  12€.  Read on for more details on Lour do Bolo 2007.

I’m all about Godello…it is a great value alternative to the many under-performing Albariños that abound in Spain.  It is the other fine white grape from Galicia.  It is grown throughout Galicia and parts of Leon.  It is a semi-aromatic grape, usually offering intense fruit (apricot, melon, lime, pear), floral, and mineral notes…it has an attractive fullness and silkiness in the mouth, with generally moderate acidity by Galician standards. Most of them are unoaked, but there are also some great wines with aging over lees or in oak barrels. The wine below is another great, moderately priced Godello that I’ve been drinking lately.