Casar de Burbia is one of a handful of small, very high quality estates that is bringing the wines of Bierzo in north west Spain into the spotlight.

Owned and run by the Fernandez Bello family, the estate has 27 hectares of vines, most of which are at around 600m above sea level. Godello is the key white grape variety (Mencia makes up the red plantings) and under the exacting eye of winemaker Isidra Fernandez Bello, the results are superb.

The 2017 Godello is zesty and fresh, with a light citrus character, subtle floral notes and a slight minerality. The wine spent 8 months maturing on the lees (the dead yeast cells left after fermentation) to add complexity and depth of flavour.

Offered: July 2018

Alcohol: 13.5%

Vintage report: Terrible frost trouble led to a small harvest, but quality of what grapes there were was high. The tiny harvest did unfortunately put some upward pressure on prices.

Drinking window: Lovely and zippy now, I suspect it will be at its best 2018 – 2019, but will continue to drink well through to 2021.

Food matching: It is completely delicious drunk by itself, but would also go very well with seafood.