Mengoba Las Tinajas 2020

Mengoba makes Las Tinajas in D.O. Bierzo, a mild valley in the west of Castilla y León, from a single plot selection of Godello grown around Espanillo and Quilos. The vines are about seventy years old and sit at 600 metres on slate and stony soils, and that age and altitude give the wine both concentration and a firm line of acidity. The name refers to the winemaking: the wine ages twelve months in clay tinajas rather than oak. Clay lets a little oxygen reach the wine and softens it, much as a barrel does, but adds no wood flavour, so the fruit and the mineral character of the slate come through unmasked. It is pale gold in the glass, with ripe apple, pear, white peach and a stony, herbal edge. The palate is textured and dry at a modest eleven and a half per cent, the orchard fruit and minerality held by fresh acidity through a long, savoury finish. Serve it at 10 to 12 degrees in a full white glass. It suits white fish, roast chicken, mushrooms and hard cheeses.