Bodegas Avancia Cuvee de O Godello 2019
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Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesLemon zest, green apples, melon rind and grapefruit pith on the nose. Some oyster shell, too. It’s medium-bodied with a supple, zesty and saline palate. Textured, with excellent length. Drink now.
Green-hued yellow-gold. Assertive aromas of fresh citrus and orchard fruits, along with hints of smoky lees, vanilla and melon in the background. Rich but impressively lively in the mouth, offering intense Anjou pear, white peach and Meyer lemon flavors underscored by a smoky mineral quality. Clings with strong tenacity on the penetrating finish, which leaves bitter citrus pith and floral notes behind.
The entry-level white 2019 Cuveé de O Godello has an expressive nose of white pepper and herbs that makes me think of a Gruner Veltliner, very spicy and peppery. It's ripe and juicy at 14.31% alcohol and has good freshness, combining volume and balance. It's a blend of wines that matured in stainless steel and oak with the lees for nine months.
All Godello, the 2019 Cuvée de O Godello offers a ripe, musky, slightly tropical style in its guava, citrus, minty herb, and honeyed toast-like aromas and flavors. A richer, medium-bodied white, it has plenty of texture, good, balancing acidity, and a great finish. It's geared for the dinner table and will keep for 2-3 years with no issues, although I see no need to delay gratification. Best After 2022
Bodegas Avancia lies snuggled in the slate dominant mountainsides of Valdeorras, high above the Sil River. Named for the extensive gold mining that the Romans conducted in this area, (Val-de-Oras roughly translates to Valley-of-Gold in Latin) Valdeorras is home to the finest terroir for growing two of Spain’s most important indigenous grapes – Godello and Mencía.
Jorge was the first broker to introduce Godello into the United States, and for many years, was the only merchant offering a wine made from this unique grape. Jorge always dreamed of having his own Godello project, and Bodegas Avancia is the result of this dream. Bodegas Avancia produces the finest Godello wines in all of Spain.
In 2016, Robert Parker, Jr. stated “One of my favorite wineries in Spain is Bodegas Avancia. This is a small estate of roughly 23 acres, dry farmed (a characteristic of all of the selections of Jorge Ordóñez), with organic viticulture. Their specialty is working with the Godello grape, which may well be Spain’s finest indigenous white grape. It has the texture of a Chardonnay, but with crisp, mineral and floral notes in its aromatics. Avancia is certainly the top producer of this intriguing and delicious dry white.” Jorge also selected D.O. Valdeorras due to its unique conditions for growing Mencía, Galicia’s most important red grape. The combination of slate soils, high altitudes, old vines, and warmer climate compared to the rest of Galicia provide Valdeorras with the best terroir for growing Mencía.
Just to the south of Bierzo, the steeply terraced Valdeorras Spanish wine region is a respected source of both red and white wines. Garnacha Tintorera (Alicante Bouschet) and Mencía are the principal red varieties while Godello and Palomino compose the majority of this region's whites.
Godello is native to northwest Spain and has experienced a major revival in the last 20 years. Godello wines are typically sleek and lightly creamy in texture. Barrel fermentation and lees stirring are typical in Valdeorras, Spain where the grape comes from. These winemaking techniques make the most of Godello's inherent structure and help bring out its lovely floral character. Somm Secret—DNA profiling says that Spain’s Godello is actually identical to the Portugese grape variety Gouveio, which grows throughout the Douro and Dão (where it used to mistakenly be called Verdelho).