This winery is regarded as the cradle of Godello, and its founder, Horacio Fernández Presa, as the saviour of the variety. In the 1970s, while heading the Agricultural Extension Agency in O Barco, Fernández Presa launched the Revival Plan to rescue Godello, which was on the brink of extinction in Valdeorras.
Together with José Luis Bartolomé, an Agricultural Extension technician, and other partners, they produced the first Viña Godeval — the name is an acronym for Godello de Valdeorras — in the 1986 vintage, in a Rhine-shaped bottle. Six years later, the wine reached the United States via importer Jorge Ordóñez, and the 1993 vintage was reviewed by Robert Parker in The Wine Advocate who described it as "an intriguing wine that should enjoy broad appeal given its freshness, cleanliness, and vibrancy”.
Although Horacio passed away in 2013, his daughter Araceli Fernández has been at the helm since 2006. The winery became a limited company in 2016, gaining new momentum thanks to its main shareholder, Honorato López Isla, a businessman from Santa Cruz (O Bolo) with an extensive background in the electrical and telecommunications industries. Since 2022, Ana Bartolomé, José Luis' daughter, has been in charge of winemaking.
The winery and most of its vineyards, around 17 hectares, lie on a forested hillside on the right bank of the River Sil, next to the monastery of Xagoaza, where the project originated. Over time, the vineyards have been expanded and a modern, functional winery was built in 2009. The monastery, once a shelter for pilgrims travelling along the Winter Way to Santiago de Compostela, also houses the Cova dos Monxes (Monks’ Cave), an 18th-century cellar excavated in slate—a rarity— that was once used to ferment wine and store food.
The rest of the vineyards are located in Vilamartín and Petín, bringing the total surface area to 40 hectares, 30 of which are currently in production. The aim is to increase this to 50 hectares by 2030. The winery focuses exclusively on Godello white wines and yields between 150,000 and 200,000 bottles annually.
The wines
Godeval's range offers an exploration of the various stages and expressions of Godello. It starts with the young Godeval, (€16), followed by Cepas Vellas, priced at around €25 in Spain. This wine is made from some of the estate’s oldest vines and aged on its lees in stainless steel tanks.
Subsequent developments include Revival (just over 6,000 bottles, €46), first released in the 2014 vintage. This wine explores the aromatic potential of Godello through cryomaceration —chilling the grapes before fermentation—,and draws on the character of Pancho, one of the project's oldest slate soil vineyards. It is pure, with well-defined flavours.
The latest addition, Godeval 1986, debuted with the 2017 vintage andpays tribute to the year the winery was founded. Aged for four months in 500-litre French oak barrels, it seeks greater structure and depth. This is the winery's most ambitious wine, retailing between €85 and €99 in Spain.
The last three white wines are presented in Burgundy-shaped bottles.