A striking nose showing freshly podded peas, green apple, fresh pastry and toasty citrus – deep and complex but still fresh and inviting. The palate has that pleasing oiliness which coats the mouth with what I can only describe as an ‘English garden’ crunch, combining gooseberry, Granny Smith apple, and a mineral character that invokes the deep umami of kale or cavolo nero. It’s a savoury, rich beauty that will triumph with food but is complex and satisfying enough to drink on its own. B.I Wines and Spirits, Feb 2017)

The 2015 As Sortes blends Godello grapes from several plots in the Bibei Valley at some 680 meters and higher from old vines at least 40 years of age on granitic soils rich in sand. The vines are farmed organically and following the biodynamical calendar. 2015 was a warm, dry and early harvest, with some rains one week after the harvest started, which helped to achieve a good ripeness. After a short skin maceration in the press, the juice was put to ferment in 500-liter French oak barrels with indigenous yeasts. The wine matured on the fine lees in those barrels for some six months. The vintages since 2012 have gained in precision, using less new oak and working with a lot more care to look after the barrels, and the wines are a lot more elegant and fresher than they were in their initial vintages. In the past, a warm vintage like 2015 could have resulted in a warmer and oakier wine, but tasting it now it feels like a cool year! There are floral aromas, and it has power and elegance, balance and freshness, with all that is needed to develop in bottle for a long time. I tasted it next to the 2014, and there are just minor, minor differences; 2015 is slightly more powerful, but the quality level is very similar. This is a superb year for As Sortes. Bravo! 20,800 bottles were filled in July 2016.

Ripe year. Almost spicy, Grüner Veltliner-like nose but with much more grip on the palate. (I subsequently discovered that Rafa sees parallels between Godello and Grüner Veltliner.) Slight bitterness on the end. Strong green thread through the palate after a particularly ripe nose. (JR)

Six different parcels. Has the same fine fruit as the Louro but more creamy/oatmeal complexity from discreet oak. Rich, powerful but still very refined, deep fruit with a savoury/mineral undertow. Very very long. (JH)