2005 Castelo do Papa Godello

Terry post:

I have only drank one Godello in my entire life and am currently on my third case of this low-cost, high-value gem from Spain.

I was introduced to this wine by accident a couple of summers ago when one of our
wine reps noted that he was down to his last several cases of Castelo Papa Godello and wanted to move them (e.g. sell at a discount). We bought three cases for the Restaurant and I took a couple bottles home to give them a try.

By background, Godello's are characteristically clean, light and crisp wines engineered to be served alongside of seafood. We Americans sometimes ignore how long our European cousins have been making wines and how their wine evolution differed from ours. Over the European centuries the wines have evolved alongside the local food each reinforcing the other until you reach a point where the local wine is finely tuned to complement the local cuisine. Such is the case of Godello.

My impressions: Lively golden color darker, I am told, than the majority of Godellos. Refreshing with a perfumed floral nose with citrus and pears at the finish. It is an acidic wine and that makes sense as it is intended to be served around hearty fish dishes, including those with heavy cream or butter bases. At retail this wine sells between $7.50 and $9.00 per 750 mL bottle making it a very good value. At the Restaurant this was a PERFECT match for a grilled Sea Bass which was served in a shallow saffron-infused shellfish consomme.

Godello's don't have much market penetration in America, and I expect that it will be nearly impossible to find this particular wine. That said, I'd recommend giving any Godello you come upon a try.

~ Terry