With this wine we're delving into the Galician mountains to discover one of the finest projects in Galicia, Adega O Cabalín, or in other words, the work of Tere López Fidalgo and Luís Peique. Although he’s from Bierzo, he actually belongs to the Peique family, the pair ended up in Valdeorras due to family ties, as Tere’s grandfather owned vineyards in this area.
 
Today, they work with about 40 tiny plots which count for 13 hectares, pure smallholding, many of them planted between 1910 and 1929 according to local records, although some are likely a few years older than that. All their plots are planted on soils that do not retain water as they’re rich in slate, quartzite, and schist.
 
This cuvée is made with all the Godello grapes they have scattered among each of the plots they work with. Both fermentation and aging are carried out in used French barrels. They don’t refill them, and the lees are worked statically. It’s a world-class Godello. It’s a wine with an austere, elegant character, with hints of stone fruits (greengage plums, flat peaches), peony petals, and notes of aging in the used wood (bark, lit firewood, and a pencil being sharpened). On the palate, it’s glyceric, full-bodied, with a super cool, vertical punch and subtle toasted nuances. It has a persistent and eternal finish that is loaded with many mineral inputs. Absolutely top-notch.