Godello and seafood

I’m increasingly impressed by the new generation of Spanish wines that are arriving on the shelves. The other day I had a fabulously crisp, zesty white called Godello from the up and coming region of Bierzo, in the region of Castilla y Leon in the north-west of Spain, not far from Galicia.

You won’t of course find it on every restaurant list - I found it at a pub just outside Cambridge called The Three Horseshoes at Madingley (+44 (0)1954 210221) that has always been noted for its excellent by-the-glass list.

The particular bottle we ordered, a 2006 Vega Montan Godello from Bodegas Adria, is similar in style to the fashionable seafood white Albariño though with a fruity character (starfruit) you don’t typically find in that wine. It was really wonderful with a starter of white and brown crab crostini served with samphire and shaved fennel - the white meat served plain, the brown, spiced with chilli and dill - one of a number of enticing-sounding dishes from an Italian-inspired, Jamie Oliver-esque menu that I’d certainly be inclined to go back and explore when we're next in the area. Like Jamie, the chef/owner Richard Stokes worked for the River Café in London.

At the moment Godello is sufficiently obscure to be a bargain so I’d snap up a few bottles if you can lay your hands on some. In the UK it’s imported by Alliance Wine. Like Albariño it would be a versatile and stylish seafood white to have in your cellar.

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