Mengoba Godello Viejo Sobre Lías 2021

Pérez’s core white wine is exclusively Godello drawn from a selection of 30- to 40-year-old plots in Cacabelos, Valtuille and Villafranca del Bierzo. The parcels cover a range of soil profiles, including river stones, sandy loam and slate soils, all lying at 550 metres. This wine fermented with wild yeast in wooden foudre and was raised for 10 months on fine lees in two 4,000-litre oval wooden vats.

Here is another example of how far Pérez’s white wines have progressed in terms of precision and clarity in recent years. The aging is longer and less reductive than for its younger sibling, which only seems to enhance the sense of smoky minerality—a reflection of the slate and calcareous soil in which the vines grow. It is a complex and stimulating mountain white that is, by turns, grapefruity, fleshy, powdery and savoury. The finish throws up deep, earthy mineral notes and perfumed, mouth-watering length. Again, it packs in much bang for your buck.