The 2011 Valdesil Pedrouzos Godello is from a legendary south-facing vineyard planted in 1885 at 500 meters altitude, the oldest Godello vineyard in existence. They only use wild yeast, ferment it in 500-liter barrels without going through malolactic fermentation, and aged six months in barrel and six months in bottle. Subtle notes of melon, quite a shy nose. The palate is very intense, with striking acidity. It’s here where the old-vine intensity is noticed, as the nose is quite shy and it needs time and air. This wine is only offered in magnum. The wood is much better integrated than in the Pezas da Portela. Drink 2014-2020. Valdesil was created in 1990 by the Prada Gayoso family. They had been grape-growers in the region for a very long time but over the years the ownership of the vineyards was divided among different family members, and even some plots were sold. They started making wine and set themselves the objective of recovering ownership of the family vineyards. They had kept the Pedrouzos vineyard, which was planted by their ancestor Jose Ramon Gayoso just after the attack of phyloxera in 1885 that remains the oldest known Godello vineyard. They re-purchased the small parcels of vineyards, locally called pezas, and they used the Pedrouzos canes to replant them when needed. The first commercial release of their Pezas da Portela was from the 2002 vintage, when they finished the acquisitions of all these pezas. They now own 20 hectares of vineyards and buy some grapes to produce 250,000 bottles of wine per year. 2013 has been a dreadful year for Valdeorras, with one terrible frost and two hailstorms that destroyed a good part of the fruit, and will probably have a negative effect on the yields of the 2014 harvest. When I visited the Pedrouzos vineyard, which is amazing, it had no grapes whatsoever; they were so damaged that they decided to green harvest all the grapes to protect the plants. At such a venerable old age they don’t need the stress of ripening the fruit that was damaged anyway. They produce four whites and two reds in a functional and simple winery, as their efforts go into their vineyards. A very reliable source for quality wines from Valdeorras. Importer: Valkyrie Selections, San Francisco, CA, Tel (415) 824-6461.