While Bierzo is largely synonymous with red wines made from Mencia grown on schist, slate and sandy soils, there are other permitted varieties and soils in this mountainous region. Among the white varieties that make up nearly a quarter of the vines planted in the D.O., Godello only represents 4% of the total plantings of vines so when Veronica Ortega found some 30 year old Godello planted on chalky soils near the village of San Juan de la Mata in the far western edge of Bierzo it was a rare opportunity to make a unique expression of Bierzo Blanco. As with all of Veronica’s wines, CAL is made from organically farmed grapes that are harvested by hand and fermented by indigenous yeasts. It is aged for 11 months in new 225L French oak barrels and 800L amphorae.
