ABOUT: Castro Candaz is an effort by Raul Perez and homie/collaborator Rodri Mendez to make some wine in a cool corner of the Ribeira-Sacra appellation. Here, the Sil Rivers opens up and the land on either side turns into gentle slopes of a mixture of granite and slate. It’s cooler here as well, ideal for some edgy Godello that isn’t intended to climb higher than 13% alcohol. Since the heat in Spain can be brutally high, finding a cool region with Godello vines is a Yahtzee!, especially in the hands of dice masters Raul and Rodri. This wine is made from Godello grown in the Quiroga-Bibei zone, native yeast fermentation burns the gas and the wine rests in 225L and 500L barrels for a year before bottling. No fining or filtering either, you figured. TASTE: Luis Gutierrez at the Wine Advocate had this to say- “The white 2018 La Vertical was produced with Godello. This is only the second vintage since the initial 2013, as they couldn't get any Godello grapes anymore; but in 2018, they rented a property that has around a half-hectare of Godello, so they could resume producing the wine again. This is from Quiroga-Bibei (the 2013 was from Chantada), and it fermented and matured in 225- and 500-liter oak barrels. It has a varietal nose with aromas of pollen and yellow fruit, quite focused. They harvested the grapes early to keep the good acidity in the zone. The oak is still there (they had some new barrels) but does not overwhelm. It has the typical bitterness of Godello and a salty twist. It's fresh and easy to drink. 1,500 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2020.” PAIR: Goat cheese and mushroom stuffed empanadas, chickpea stew with orzo and mustard greens, asparagus with garlic and lemon, pineapple fried rice, roasted carrot soup, and a twice baked potato casserole.
