Adega Cachin Peza do Rei Ribeira Sacra Godello 2018

Although medium-bodied and delightfully lithe in spirit, Adega Cachin’s Peza do Rei Ribeira Sacra offers wonderful energy, intense aromatics from the region’s traditional blend of indigenous grape varieties, and mouthwatering palate appeal. With Godello taking the lead with delightfully round fruit, herb, and mineral tones and Treixadura and Albariño playing strong supporting roles with added dashes of citrus, quince, and tropical fruit, the 2018 Peza do Rei Ribeira Sacra is a true crowd pleaser. Elegant, juicy, sophisticated and downright delicious, Peza do Rei’s 2018 Ribeira Sacra makes a great case for Ribeira Sacra’s indigenous grape varieties by drinking well from start to finish. Enjoy this pure unique white wine now and for the next several years! For optimal enjoyment, we suggest affording Peza do Rei’s 2018 Ribeira Sacra a moderate chill (40°-45° F) and then allowing it to work its magic sip by sip. Enjoy!

The 2018 Adega Cachin Peza do Rei Ribeira Sacra is an ebullient, charming wine in its own right, providing a go-to wine for all seasons and occasions. As an aperitif, it offers a welcome change from Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Grigio. Moreover, it positively shines in the company of rich, spicy appetizers, delicately prepared seafood salads, and a host of Galician specialties. Galician paella is a perennial favorite: it is prepared with hake, octopus, and plenty of shellfish. Lightly fried calamari and sautéed oysters also provide tasty pairings with Peza do Rei’s Godello-centric Ribeira Sacra. Fish or chicken tacos offer delicious, easy to prepare accompaniments, too. Yet, we suggest you not overlook Asian stir fries such as Thai Chicken and Basil or even lightly curried dishes with Peza do Rei’s cheerful, flavorful Ribeira Sacra. Vegetable and mushroom flatbread pizzas made with cauliflower crust provide additional satisfying companions to Peza do Rei’s 2018 Ribeira Sacra, but then most tasty morsels will, too.

Buen Provecho!

Adega Cachin’s Peza do Rei is a medieval walled vineyard in the heart of Galicia’s Ribeira Sacra and Sil River Canyon. Peza do Rei takes its name from the Kings of Leon who garnered income from the site and used the adjoining forest as a hunting retreat. Within these ancient walls are twelve acres of vertiginous, single row slate terraces that form an ideal south-facing amphitheater along the Edo River, a tributary of the Sil. To say that Peza do Rei enjoys a spectacular location would be more than an understatement.

Today Peza do Rei is the domain of the César Enriquez family, who are among the core of founding growers of what is now D.O. Ribeira Sacra. Beginning in the early 1990s, they reconstituted the vineyard with only noble indigenous grape varieties: Godello, Treixadura, and Albariño are responsible for Peza do Rei’s highly acclaimed Godello-based white wine, while Mencia serves as the sole variety for the domain’s sophisticated red wine. Peza do Rei’s modern bodega, which is excavated into a hillside to provide natural temperature control, handles the entire production of 50,000 bottles, miniscule by New World standards.

Godello is a white grape variety that is indigenous to northwest Spain. It can also be found in northern Portugal where it is known as Gouveio. However, it is in Galicia, Spain’s cool northwestern province that sits beside a rugged Atlantic coast, that Godello reaches its full perfection. The finest examples of Godello emanate from the Ribeira Sacra and Valdeorras appellations. Brought back from near extinction in the past thirty years, Godello has reclaimed its traditional standing as one of Spain’s three exceptional white grape varietals (Albariño and Verdejo being the other two fair-skinned stars) with a total plantation of nearly 3,000 acres.

Godello, like many other grape varieties, is known by a litany of names. It has more than a dozen synonyms, including Agodello, Berdello, Godella, Ojo de Gallo, Trincadente, and Verdello. Yet, no matter the synonym, Godello requires a cool climate and thin, slate soils to thrive. Fresh, aromatic, and terroir-driven Godello rarely sees ageing in oak barrels, and for that it is most often the better. Nevertheless, Godello is capable of ageing for many years in the bottle, not unlike the finest examples of Chardonnay and Riesling. Elegance, freshness, and purity along with round, complex, mineral-rich flavors are Godello’s calling cards.