Sorte O Soro, Rafael Palacios 2023

The 2023 Sorte O Soro fermented in new 500-liter French oak barrels with indigenous yeasts and matured in those barrels with the fine lees after being pressed for seven months, yet the wine is anything but oaky. It feels austere and harmonious and combines power and elegance, with notes of dry herbs and flowers, perhaps a little too shy. It doesn't lack ripeness (Godello here routinely reaches 14% alcohol), but it has very good acidity and freshness, denoted by a pH of 3.01 and 7.7 grams of acidity, yet the wine is not acidic either, as ripeness and acidity compensate each other. There is a sense of purity and precision that I love.

The attack is impressively voluminous, yet it quickly narrows and finishes with great depth. Notes of iodine emerge on the palate. This is a fluid, sapid and saline wine – pure, clean and profound. Reminiscent of a great Chablis Grand Cru, with oak that is perfectly integrated, enhancing without overpowering. A wine of maximum precision and deep emotional resonance, layered with minerality and salinity. With extraordinary ageing potential, it stretches across the palate with finesse and intensity. A wine of pure hedonism and refined complexity.