Farr Vintners Logo

As Sortes, Rafael Palacios 2015

RegionSpain
Subregion Spain > Galicia > Valdeorras
ColourWhite
TypeStill
Grape VarietyGodello

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Rafael Palacios

Label

Tasting Notes

The 2015 As Sortes blends Godello grapes from several plots in the Bibei Valley at some 680 meters and higher from old vines at least 40 years of age on granitic soils rich in sand. The vines are farmed organically and following the biodynamical calendar. 2015 was a warm, dry and early harvest, with some rains one week after the harvest started, which helped to achieve a good ripeness. After a short skin maceration in the press, the juice was put to ferment in 500-liter French oak barrels with indigenous yeasts. The wine matured on the fine lees in those barrels for some six months. The vintages since 2012 have gained in precision, using less new oak and working with a lot more care to look after the barrels, and the wines are a lot more elegant and fresher than they were in their initial vintages. In the past, a warm vintage like 2015 could have resulted in a warmer and oakier wine, but tasting it now it feels like a cool year! There are floral aromas, and it has power and elegance, balance and freshness, with all that is needed to develop in bottle for a long time. I tasted it next to the 2014, and there are just minor, minor differences; 2015 is slightly more powerful, but the quality level is very similar. This is a superb year for As Sortes. Bravo! 20,800 bottles were filled in July 2016. Drink 2017-2024.

94
Luis Gutierrez, Wine Advocate (232), August 2017
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.