Description
The Godello and Mencía varieties come from inland Galicia, in the northwest of Spain, and they are becoming more and more significant. Increasing numbers of producers in the Valdeorras and Bierzo areas know how to bring out the best characteristics of these grapes. In fact, in the last two decades, Mencía has increased considerably both in terms of planted area and production. Godello, although comparatively less well known, is also beginning to break into the domestic and international markets. Someone who has been able to capture the intrinsic qualities of these two little-known varieties is César Márquez. Nephew of influential winemaker Raúl Pérez, he makes elegant, genuine, and easy-to-drink wines that reflect the identities of the different plots in Bierzo (Castilla y León). His César Márquez 'La Salvación' white wine is named after the eagerness to recover old Godello vines that have been forgotten after harvesting the Mencía grape. A total of three plots of hundred-year-old vines planted on clay soils rich in organic matter and facing north. The vines are cultivated using organic agriculture, and the harvest is carried out manually when the grapes reach optimum ripeness. In the winery, following a philosophy of minimal intervention, the grapes are fermented with native yeasts, and the wine is aged in used French oak barrels for 12 months.
