Bodegas Avancia estate spotlight
Jorge Ordonez Selections, the official importer, films Bodegas Avancia in Valdeorras for Godello and Mencia, the house behind this Nobleza Carballedo.
2022 Bodegas Avancia Nobleza Carballedo Mencia Valdeorras, Spain (97 JD)
A two-barrel 1940-vine Mencia from Carballedo above the Sil, Jeb Dunnuck 97, a 2022 you can open at forty-four dollars.
The 2022 Nobleza Carballedo is a field-blend Mencia from 0.4 hectares planted in 1940: redcurrant, black cherry, graphite, and savory herbs after used French oak, now $44.
A two-barrel 1940-vine parcel, not a generic Mencia
Carballedo is 0.4 hectares of 1940 vines on slate above the Sil. Two barrels. Jeb Dunnuck 97 for redcurrant, black cherry, chocolate, graphite, and savory herbs, with integrated acidity and polished tannin. Guia Penin 95: complex, expressive, spicy, mineral, and powerful. This is a named micro-parcel, not a regional blend with a score attached.
The house
Bodegas Avancia was founded in 2004 in O Barco de Valdeorras. Jorge Ordonez built it around old-vine Godello and Mencia on slate above the Sil.
The wine
Carballedo field blend, majority Mencia. Hand harvested, fermented in 600L open-top used French barrels, about one-third whole cluster, aged in used oak.
The scores
Jeb Dunnuck 97. Guia Penin 95, Podium Award.
The drinker
Redcurrant and graphite first. Decant 30 to 45 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Lamb shoulder or mushrooms on toast.
Redcurrant, graphite, then a stony close
Dunnuck called it slightly deeper and richer, with beautiful redcurrant, black cherry, chocolate, graphite, and savory herb-driven aromatics. Penin found defined aromas, balsamic herbs, and a juicy, long palate.
A dry year that gave old-vine Mencia firmer tannin and more concentration. The Carballedo parcel kept a mineral cut rather than rusticity.
Redcurrant, black cherry, chocolate, graphite, savory herbs, balsamic spice.
Medium to full, polished tannin, used French oak, site tension rather than oak sweetness.
Stony, herbal, long. Decant 30 to 45 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F.
Used barrels, whole cluster, site first
On the Jorge Ordonez sheet, Nobleza Carballedo is made like a site wine, not a brand extension. Fruit is hand harvested in 10kg crates, sorted, and fermented in 600 liter open-top used French barrels so the mineral profile stays in front.
Around one-third of the lot sees whole-cluster work. The balance is destemmed but not crushed, keeping tannin shape fine rather than aggressive. The wine is basket-pressed, then malolactic and aging in used French barrique.
Carballedo sits on 30-degree northeast slopes of poor slate with quartz, on the southern bank of the Sil. Old vines reduce yields. The concentration in the glass is carried by acidity and stone, not oak sweetness.
A tiny slate parcel east of O Barco
Valdeorras remains one of Spain's most interesting underexploited fine-wine regions: steep slate hills, old vineyards, and a cooler mountain logic that gives Mencia freshness.
Bodegas Avancia was founded in 2004 in O Barco de Valdeorras, in the heart of the appellation, to farm old Godello and Mencia on slate above the Sil.
Carballedo is the detail that matters here. A 0.4-hectare plot east of town, planted in 1940, rooted in poor slate soils threaded with quartz, facing northeast on a 30-degree slope.
The 2022 Nobleza is that parcel in two barrels: a place wine first, a translation of slope, rock, old material, and patience.
Lamb shoulder, then mushrooms on toast
This is the kind of red that rewards savory food instead of fighting it. Lamb, charred peppers, lentils, mushrooms, and aged sheep's milk cheese all make immediate sense.
Two plates. One rosemary garlic lamb shoulder. One mushroom sourdough bruschetta. Both can take graphite and old-vine tannin.
Decant 30 to 45 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F in a Burgundy or broad universal stem. The first glass shows fruit. The second glass is herbs and stone.
Rosemary and Garlic Lamb Shoulder
Lamb's richness brings out the wine's black cherry, graphite, and herb tones, while rosemary and garlic feel native to the savory profile.
Why it works: The roast's fat softens polished tannin. Rosemary echoes balsamic herbs. Graphite cuts the richness.
View Recipe for rosemary and garlic lamb shoulder (opens in a new tab)
Mushroom Sourdough Bruschettas
Earthy mushrooms and toasted bread underline the wine's slate, spice, and old-vine texture. A smart first-glass pairing.
Why it works: Mushroom umami pulls graphite and herb. Toast cushions tannin so the stony close stays in view.
View Recipe for mushroom sourdough bruschettas (opens in a new tab)Put this two-barrel Mencia in the cart
1940 vines. Two barrels. Jeb Dunnuck 97. Forty-four dollars against an $80 typical retail.
Put six in the cart. This is the Avancia bottle for a table that wants old-vine Galicia without a collector speech.
