Rafael Palacios comes from one of Spain’s great wine families. His brother Alvaro was instrumental in putting the Priorat region on the map, and with this wine, Rafael has helped to put Spain’s indigenous Godello grape in the forefront. In fact, many “insiders” believe that Godello is Spain’s “great white hope” in a country that produces a lot more red wine than white.
The wine comes from Valdeorras in northwestern Spain, and Rafael started in just 2004. He is working with moderately old vines and low yields, and the wine sees a brief oak aging. The result is a beautifully aromatic and textured white wine that reminds me of a well made White Burgundy – white peach, baking spices, liquid mineral and spring flowers abound in this easy-to-drink, relatively sophisticated white wine.
Several months back, we held a blind Chardonnay tasting and threw this one (as a ringer of sorts) in against some much more expensive Chardonnay from around the world. Guess what? It was nearly everyone’s favorite wine in the tasting.