Spain · Bierzo

Rafael Palacios

A Valdeorras Godello project founded in 2004, built from old Bibei Valley vineyards on granite and quartz schist between 620 and 740 metres.

The producer

Rafael Palacios works with Godello in the Valle del Bibei at O Bolo, within DO Valdeorras. The project began in 2004 with purchases of old vineyards from elderly local growers, assembling 32 parcels across 24.5 hectares on the right bank of the Bibei River. Granite-derived soils with quartz schist and terraced, high-elevation sites shape a collection of wines rooted in separate parcels rather than one continuous estate vineyard.

Louro do Bolo brings together younger-vine Godello, naturally fermented in large foudres and aged four months on fine lees for dry fruit, fresh acidity and a textured palate; with age, waxy and honeyed notes can emerge. As Sortes moves to old vines from six northern Bibei Valley parcels and has a longer drinking horizon, while O Soro narrows the focus to one parcel.

Known for

High-elevation Godello from 32 Bibei Valley parcels, expressed through younger-vine, old-vine and single-parcel wines.

Notable facts

The story

The 2004 Vineyard Purchases

In 2004, Rafael Palacios began his project in O Bolo by buying old Godello vineyards from elderly local growers. He did not begin with a newly planted estate or one continuous field: the work started with established parcels in the Valle del Bibei, on the right bank of the Bibei River. Those sites ranged across terraces between 620 and 740 metres, with granite-derived soil and quartz schist beneath the vines. The holding later came to encompass 32 parcels totaling 24.5 hectares of Godello. Louro do Bolo draws on younger-vine parcels, As Sortes on old vines from six northern Bibei Valley parcels, and O Soro is bottled from one parcel.

The 2004 Vineyard Purchases

In 2004, Rafael Palacios began his project in O Bolo by buying old Godello vineyards from elderly local growers. He did not begin with a newly planted estate or one continuous field: the work started with established parcels in the Valle del Bibei, on the right bank of the Bibei River. Those sites ranged across terraces between 620 and 740 metres, with granite-derived soil and quartz schist beneath the vines. The holding later came to encompass 32 parcels totaling 24.5 hectares of Godello. Louro do Bolo draws on younger-vine parcels, As Sortes on old vines from six northern Bibei Valley parcels, and O Soro is bottled from one parcel.

From the atlas

Rafael Palacios

At A Glance

Rafael Palacios is a Godello project in the Valle del Bibei, at O Bolo in DO Valdeorras, Galicia. Founded in 2004, it brings together 32 Godello parcels across 24.5 hectares on the right bank of the Bibei River. The labels move from younger-vine Louro do Bolo to old-vine As Sortes and the single-parcel O Soro, so each bottle narrows the focus from a collection of sites to a particular place.

The Producer

Rafael Palacios began this personal project in O Bolo in 2004, working with Godello, the local white grape, rather than planting a new estate from scratch. He bought old vineyards from elderly growers, and the resulting holding is a patchwork of existing parcels rather than one continuous vineyard. In the bottle, that choice leads to a range built around different vine ages and sites within Valdeorras.

The winery’s listed address is in A Rúa, Ourense, while the vineyards central to the project lie in the Valle del Bibei subzone of O Bolo. The distance between cellar address and vineyard land matters less than the river-valley parcels themselves: Godello from those high, terraced sites is the material behind Louro do Bolo, As Sortes and O Soro.

Place

The Bibei parcels sit on the river’s right bank between 620 and 740 metres above sea level. At that elevation, the growing season is shaped by a highland setting rather than by low, warm valley-floor conditions; Godello can keep its acidity as it ripens, which supports dry wines with lift instead of soft, broad weight.

DO Valdeorras is the appellation on the label, while Valle del Bibei and O Bolo name the smaller landscape within it. Rafael Palacios uses that setting through separate parcels, not a single blended estate vineyard. Louro gathers younger-vine sites, As Sortes draws on six older-vine parcels in the northern Bibei Valley, and O Soro takes the focus down to one parcel.

Soil And Site

Granite-derived soil and quartz schist run through the terraces. These are stony, structured vineyard materials, and their practical consequence is visible in how the land is worked: light machinery and traditional animal traction are used to protect the terrace structure rather than compact it.

The oldest plots are referred to as sortes, a useful local word here because the wine names follow the land. As Sortes is not simply a more mature version of Louro; it is an old-vine wine assembled from six northern-valley parcels. O Soro goes further still, putting a single parcel at the centre of the label.

Story

The estate began with a search for old Godello rather than a plan to create uniform vineyards. Buying parcels from older local growers brought together vines with different positions, soils and ages, and the range has retained that shape. Louro do Bolo carries the younger-vine side of the holding; As Sortes draws from older vines; O Soro isolates one site.

This is also why the project reads clearly through its labels. Each name answers a different question about Godello in the Bibei Valley: what younger parcels can do, what old vines from several sites can do, and what a single parcel can do when it is bottled separately.

Vineyards And Cellar

The 32 parcels are farmed with traditional methods and ecologically based treatments. On the oldest sortes, biodynamic management is used; O Soro is also worked with horses and by biodynamic and lunar-calendar principles. Animal traction is especially suited to terraced ground because it helps preserve the soil structure that machinery can disturb.

For Louro do Bolo, naturally fermented must goes into 35-hectolitre foudres, then remains on fine lees for four months. The large wooden vessels and lees ageing put texture into a younger-vine Godello without requiring a strongly oaky style: the wine can carry fruit and acidity with more body through the middle of the palate.

Wines

Louro do Bolo is the younger-vine expression. Natural fermentation in foudres and four months on fine lees give its dry Godello a textural frame, while the wine’s youthful stage can show a light spritz. With bottle age, its profile is expected to move towards waxy and honeyed notes.

As Sortes is the old-vine step, drawn from six northern Bibei Valley parcels. It is presented as a more age-worthy wine than Louro, with the 2024 vintage expected to drink through roughly 2036. Its role is therefore not simply greater weight: it puts old-vine Godello and a defined group of parcels ahead of Louro’s younger-vine blend.

O Soro is the single-parcel bottle. Its vineyard work includes horses and biodynamic management, and the wine became the first Galician bottle awarded 100 points by The Wine Advocate. That milestone belongs to one named site, not to the whole range.

In The Glass

Start with Louro do Bolo young and the palate may show a gentle spritz, dry fruit and a lees-derived texture. Four months on fine lees help the wine feel more substantial through the middle, while the high-elevation Godello base keeps acidity active rather than leaving a loose finish.

With time in bottle, Louro is expected to trade some of that youthful fizz for waxy and honeyed tones. As Sortes is intended for a longer arc, so its structure belongs in the cellar conversation: old vines and its six-parcel origin support a wine held beyond Louro’s earlier-drinking role.

A Bottle To Understand It

Begin with Louro do Bolo. It is Godello from the younger parcels, naturally fermented in 35-hectolitre foudres and aged four months on fine lees. Drink it young for dry fruit, fresh acidity, a slight spritz and a textured palate; return to it later for waxy, honeyed development. It introduces the grape, the Bibei Valley setting and the cellar method without requiring a single-parcel frame.

Anecdote

In 2004, Rafael Palacios began his project in O Bolo by buying old Godello vineyards from elderly local growers. The purchase was not of one newly planted field but of established parcels in the Valle del Bibei, on the right bank of the Bibei River. Over time, those holdings became 32 parcels totaling 24.5 hectares of Godello, spread across terraces from 620 to 740 metres. The wines still carry the shape of that beginning: Louro do Bolo uses younger-vine parcels, As Sortes comes from old vines in six northern Bibei Valley parcels, and O Soro is bottled from one parcel.

Final Word

Rafael Palacios is worth seeking out for Godello with a clear chain from terrace to label: granite and quartz schist under the vines, high Bibei Valley parcels in the fruit, lees and foudre work in Louro’s texture, then increasingly narrow site selection from Louro to As Sortes and O Soro.

Sources

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