In fact, the 2013 Godello was about to be bottled when I met with Eduardo and Alberto Garcia to taste their wines and they presented this white, something they had been hoping to do for a while. It is a barrel-fermented and aged white produced with white Godello grapes grown in El Bierzo, but sold as Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y Leon that will be offered together with the reds as “the white Mauro.” The grapes come from a young vineyard they planted with sticks from Valdeorras, which are located at 700 meters altitude and where harvested relatively early in such late, Atlantic vintage as 2013 to preserve acidity. The must fermented in 500-liter French oak barrels where it aged in contact with the lees for eight months, but didn’t go through malolactic fermentation (it has a pH of 3.1). It has a clean nose with aromas of white and yellow fruit with yeasty aromas of bread dough, with elegance and harmony. The palate is light-bodied, delineated, austere, sharp and dry, with laser-like precision, great acidity and clean flavors ending mineral, even saline in character. This is a superb Godello, the first white produced by Mariano Garcia. Only 1,200 bottles were produced in this first vintage and the price had not yet been decided. We’ll have to see how this wine ages in bottle, but the balance and acidity point at a good evolution. Drink now-2018. Mauro continues producing powerful, concentrated, well-oaked and true to their birthplace reds, but the big news is that with the 2013 they will release their first ever white wine! It will be a Godello from grapes grown at El Bierzo, but it will be sold, like their reds, as Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y Leon. Importer: Christopher Cannan, Europvin; www.europvin.com