Virgen del Galir Regueiron Godello Valdeorras DO – 2024

“Regueirón is a single parcel in Éntoma grown on slate terraces and represents a wonderful expression of this part of Valdeorras. Aromas of white pepper, lemon pith and mint lead to a  concentrated, intense palate which is still very tightly wound but will surely unravel slowly and beautifully over the coming years. It is sapid, saline and “seductor” as they say in Spanish. The  winemaking is delicate, allowing for an unadulterated expression of the vineyard through ten months aging in 500L barrels, as well as ceramic which was introduced with this vintage. A simply fantastic Galician white.” 98/100pts Tim Atkin MW and Best White Wine from Galicia 2026. 

Valdeorras’ rise to fame has been driven by one grape in particular – Godello. Virgen del Galir has quickly become one of the key players behind Godello’s success here and makes some of the very best examples of this white wine in the region at very reasonable prices.  

The first Virgen del Galir vines were planted in 1998 by the original owner but the level of quality and pace of development in the vineyards and winery ramped up several gears when CVNE – the Compania Vinicola del Norte di Espana – took the company over in 2018.  The goal of CVNE’s chairman is to produce the company’s flagship white wine here in Valdeorras, and from what I witnessed and tasted, they are on a superb path!

Virgen del Galir is managed by Miguel Tienda, who was recently awarded Best Winemaker in Galicia in Tim Atkin MW’s 2026 Galicia Report.  Miguel is an impressive, friendly and humble winemaker with a large job on his hands, as he is also responsible for CVNE’s winery in Rias Baixas. In the last six years he has increased the size of the company’s most important Godello vineyard, called A Malosa, to 21 hectares, so that it is now one of the largest single vineyards in Valdeorras. Based on steep, terraced, slatey slopes which rise up from the Galir River near Entoma, this produces their Val do Galir Godello – in my opinion one of the best value white wines I have tasted from Spain.

On a much smaller vineyard of only 0.42ha behind the winery in Entoma, called Regueiron, they produce their top Godello, which is a true star and absolutely rivals very fine white Burgundy for its depth and complexity. This vineyard is based on steep, slate slopes with a 40% gradient. They face south, giving the vines more direct exposure to the sun and the resulting wines more richness and depth of flavour.

And on an equally small 0.4ha granite-soiled vineyard called A Villeira near the historic As Ermitas church in the Bibei river Valley on the western border of Valdeorras, the winery produce their top red wine from mainly old vine Mencia. This is the same, breathtakingly steep and rocky granitic mountainside where Rafael Palacios and Telmo Rodriguez have their most famous vineyards.

Virgen del Galir’s impressive new winery is located in the village of Entoma, just outside O Barco in the centre of Valdeorras.  Clearly, no expense has been spared in building and kitting out the cellars. All the winemaking equipment is state of the art, including a brand new bottling line, and there is a fantastic assortment of French oak barrels, large oak casks as well as cement and clay amphorae.