Gaba do Xil Godello is produced partially from grapes that are partially estate-grown and partially sourced from long-term suppliers. They come from 4 plots (O Val Grande, O Rasedo, A Torgueira, and O Valverde) located near the Bibei tributary, close to the town of Santa Cruz. This area was abandoned more than 200 years ago after the phylloxera epidemic devastated most of Europe’s vineyards. Dotted with chestnut trees mixed with rockrose, the old granitic terraces barely have enough space to squeeze in the odd row of vines, following the folds of the mountains that plunge into the river. The vines grow in shallow, stony granite soils on terraces facing south, west and northwest. These coarse soils are low fertility and have low water retention capacity, forcing the vines to struggle and limiting yields.