Does Red Godello Exist? And What About Merenzao?
When we talk about the Godello grape, our minds naturally go to the white wines produced with this variety in the regions of Valdeorras, Ribeira Sacra, Monterrei, and Bierzo. A single-varietal Godello is a white wine. However, for those of you not familiar with Galicia’s native grape varieties, producers have spent several years now recovering an ancient indigenous grape that is yielding truly spectacular wines. This is Merenzao — a variety whose synonyms include María Ordoña, Carnaz, and Godello Tinto, this last name being widely used in parts of Ribeira Sacra. Do red godello exist?
So yes, we can say that wines made from “Godello Tinto” do exist, though you will most commonly find them labeled as Merenzao, which is the name gaining recognition as the standard.
This variety is related to the Trousseau grape from the Jura region of France, from which it is believed to originate. It is characterized by producing wines that are remarkably fresh, silky, and fruit-forward, and to which barrel aging lends a particularly elegant and refined quality, making them genuine pleasures to taste.
These wines display ruby red colors — depending on the aging period — very bright and clear, with a medium to medium-high intensity. On the nose, they show red fruit, minerality, and certain herbaceous notes and scrubland aromas. On the palate they offer good volume and tend to be very well structured, with excellent aging potential thanks to the grape’s naturally high acidity. The finish is long, with a subtle bitter note lingering at the end.
Merenzao is commonly used as part of a blend in red wines, though single-varietal expressions also exist.
All of this means that in some places, talking about Merenzao is the same as talking about Godello Tinto — and so we can answer the original question with a confident yes: Red Godello does indeed exist.
Sobrelías Redacción
Sobrelías Redacción