Freshness Again and Again and ..: Bodegas y Viñedos Gancedo Capricho Val de Paxariñas Blanco 2011, Bierzo

I guess I get a little bit obsessed with those fresh whites from the rainy North-West of Spain. This time I indulged myself with a Godello (with 15% Dona Blanca) from Bierzo. Godello is one the prominent white varietals of the North-West of Spain and the North of Portugal. Since the late 1990s it came once again into fashion and enlarged its cultivated plantation substantially. The producer of today’s wine was Bodegas y Viñedos Gancedo. A relatively young winery (est. 1999/2000) with autochthonous varietals ((e.g. Mencia, Godello etc.) in cultivation only (e.g. Mencia, Godello etc.). By the way: the elevation of the vineyards is up to 1000 meters (in general between 500 and 650 meters), the aging took place in stainless and the vines were approx. 20 (Godello) to 60 (Dona Blanca) years old.

The colour of today’s wine was pretty much as expected. Very bright, slightly green’ish reflexes, astoundingly cloudy and a bit on the carbonic acid side! The nose impressed with elegance and personality. I got fragrances of fresh grass, cantaloupe, unripe green lemons, green pepper, a bit more ripened apples, mineral feelings from granite (don’t know why, dunno about the nature of the soil) and some hours later rather exotic scents of mango and other undisclosed fruits. Well, anyway it seemed very fruitful and mineral at the same time. The taste was super fresh and already pretty precise. Very catchy, I got to confess! I got aromas of green lemons, lime, semi-ripened apples, black pepper, red berry fruits (!) and later gooseberries + ripened green tangerines. A mineral touch was deeply present and the acid very well proportionated and lively. Great finish, great excitement, great combination of fruits, herbs and mineral’ish features - and still young (life expectancy another 2 to 3 years)! Mr Petty might remark: The alcohol was a tiny weeny bit too much (13,5%). Well, I don’t know Mr Petty, so I don’t care! For me the alcohol was totally in the background. For somebody who lives in Germany I tend to see some remotely Silvaner-like resemblances. Try for yourself ;-). Very decent wine for not a lot of money! The only thing I might criticize is the rather dull label! But who cares about that …?