The oaky and perfumed 2019 Lapena is going to need more time to integrate the effect of the élevage in wood, but the palate is phenomenal, intense and incisive, with weight and plenty of flavors, quite showy and a little decadent. It finishes dry and long.

I love the liveliness and the youth of the white 2018 Lapena, the 100% Godello that follows up the 2015, as the 2016 and 2017 vintages were not produced. It has pungent herbal notes, coming through as quite varietal and with a background of smoke, spice and nuts that give it a Burgundian side to the nose. But the palate shows the dry minerality from the rocky Ribeira Sacra soils. It should develop nicely in bottle. Only 372 bottles were filled in June 2020 after aging in a single 300-liter oak barrel for seven months with the lees and a further 11 monthjs after racking.

The nutty and golden white 2015 Lapena matured in barrel for seven months but has a more oxidative profile than the younger white (Lapola) that only spends four months in wood. Having said that, the wine feels surprisingly young for its age. It has notes of baked apples and nuts and a round and lush palate, denoting the ripeness of a warm year like 2015, with its 14% alcohol, medium to full body and lush texture. It has the textbook bitter finish from the Godello. The next vintage for this bottling was 2018, as no 2016 or 2017 was produced. 888 bottles were filled in July 2017.

The top-of-the-range white 2014 Lapena is pure Godello from a 37-year-old vineyard on schist and slate soils of sandy texture at 670 meters in altitude, and it feels a little austere and close despite the faint creaminess. It has notes of tangerine peel, yellow flowers and pollen, spices and smoke. The influence of the oak (it fermented and matured in 600-liter barrels) gives it a slightly Burgundian twist that is quite intermixed with the Atlantic/Gallego character, coming through as quite original, keeping the imprint of the origin that is more clear in the younger Lapola. Only 887 bottles were filled in June 2016.

Releasing the top white so many years after the harvest means the current 2013 Lapena belongs to a different era when it comes to style. Despite the cold and challenging year, the profile is voluptuous and showy, with plenty of oak-related aromas. The palate also reflects the effect of the élevage in second use 600-liter French oak barrels, where the wine also fermented. After that, it was kept in concrete eggs for a further 11 months before bottling. Only 892 bottles were filled in August 2015. The wine is still lively and young, but I guess it will be marked by the oak for the rest of its life. For those tolerant of oak.