B-21 Top Recommendation Read More
Among the most distinctive white wines in the world and one of the Wine Spectator’s Top Wines of 2022, the alluring 92 pt. 2021 Bodegas Avancia Godello offers aromatic richly textured fruit hinting of citrus, wild herbs and crushed stone with beautifully uplifted acidity and a mouth coating finish, sourced from one of the region’s oldest vineyards and certain to enchant Spanish wine lovers and fans of exquisitely crafted white wines worthy of aging at an incredible value price.
Boasting steep, challenging terrain and lacking the vineyard workers needed to cultivate them, the Godello vineyards in Galicia were nearly abandoned by the late 1980’s, many replanted with easier to grow varietals like Palomino and rendering Godello nearly extinct. As the lone importer of Godello into the US as recently as the late 1990’s, pioneering consultant and entrepreneur Jorge Ordonez was a champion of the varietal long before its rise to sommelier favorite and appearance on the trendiest wine lists, establishing Bodegas Avancia in the northwestern hills of Spain in 2007 with 24 hectares in Galicia’s “golden valley” of Valdeorras. Sourced from the Finca Aeiroa vineyard planted in the early 1900’s and Finca Porto Mourisco planted in 1962, the dry farmed bush vines for the 2021 Godello grow in a mix of decomposed slate and quartz soils at a high altitude overlooking the Sil River, situated approximately 90 miles inland from the coast on a cooler, northern orientation and producing tiny, concentrated berries. After hand harvesting the grapes with rigorous selection in the vineyard and winery, the elegant 2021 Bodegas Avancia Godello was fermented with indigenous yeast in large French oak casks and aged 10 months on the lees in 15% new, larger format French oak without malolactic, yielding bright and creamy citrus notes on a mineral backbone with a seamless texture balanced by refreshing acidity.
From Spain’s “finest indigenous grape” according to Robert Parker Jr. boasting “the texture of a Chardonnay, but with crisp, mineral and floral notes,” the rich and enticing 2021 Bodegas Avancia Godello reflects the depth of its old vine origins with appealing freshness and minerality that will have you reaching for another glass, a rare and beautifully crafted Godello to enjoy now and over the next few years at an easy to reach for price. |