Chris BerryFounder, Wine Underdogs — chasing the world’s overlooked grapesThe Spain most people picture is hot, high, and built on Tempranillo. The best-value corner is the opposite of all three. In the green, Atlantic northwest — Galicia and the neighboring hills of Bierzo — the rain falls, the wines turn fresh and mineral, and two grapes that were almost lost now make some of the most elegant bottles in the country. This is Spain for people who thought they knew Spanish wine.
Both grapes nearly vanished in the twentieth century, kept alive by a handful of growers before a new generation saw what they had. That near-death and comeback is the underdog story in its purest form.
The white: Godello
Godello is what happens when a grape gets a second chance and takes it. From Valdeorras in Galicia, it makes a white with the texture and restraint people cross into Burgundy for — stone fruit, a saline mineral edge, real depth — without the Burgundy markup. It was down to a few hectares in the 1970s. It is now the white that converts committed red drinkers.
The Godello deep dive makes the full comparison, and if you usually reach for Chardonnay, start here.
The red: Mencía
Just east, in Bierzo, Mencía makes a red that reads more like the Loire or the northern Rhône than anything you expect from Spain — floral, peppery, medium-bodied, with a cool-climate lift that heavier Spanish reds simply don't have. It is the bottle for the drinker who finds most Spanish reds too warm and jammy, and wants perfume and freshness instead.
Read the full profile in Mencía: Spain's fragrant comeback.
Why bother
Because these are wines of restraint from a country better known for power, made from grapes that almost didn't survive to be tasted. Elegance, freshness, and a comeback story — at prices the famous Spanish regions gave up long ago. That is the whole case for looking northwest.
More Spanish underdogs: Albillo Mayor, the white that made Tempranillo, and the Somontano survivors. New here? Start with the Underdog Starter List.
Part of Lesser-Known Wines: 16 Obscure Grapes Worth Switching To — the full underdog-swap guide.
— Chris Berry