AVANCIA TINTO CUVEE MOSTEIRO MENCIA 2011

I just got back from a two week buying trip to Spain and boy did I find some hidden gems! Starting right now with this 2010 Mencia that will tease your palate without breaking your wallet! This is a great multipurpose red to enjoy with burgers, pasta or chicken.

90 points Robert Parker The Wine Advocate

The 2010 Avancia Cuvee Mosteiro 100% Mencia from head-pruned vines planted between 1920 and 1935 underwent malo in French oak, and the wine spent 12 months in wood prior to being bottled. It displays lots of black and blue fruits blueberries and a hint of raspberries. Deep, rich and full-bodied as well as elegant and precise, this beauty can be enjoyed over the next 5-6 years. Think of it as a ripe Loire Valley Cabernet Franc on steroids. RP Nov. 2013 200 cases made

91 points Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Review

91pts Deep ruby. Ripe blueberry, boysenberry and wood smoke aromas are accented by notes of licorice and nutmeg. Lush, broad and viscous, especially for the variety, with densely packed flavors of black and blue fruits, bitter chocolate and mocha. Finishes supple and sweet, with very good persistence and no obvious tannins. Stephen Tanzer´s International Wine Cellar

Jorge Ordonez: America’s First Revolutionary Spanish Importer

by Robert Parker

Value Wines from Fine Estates from Spain

Jorge Ordoñez, whom I first met about ten years after I began publishing The Wine Advocate, is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his import company in 2012. It is no exaggeration to say that Jorge Ordoñez is the reference point for some of the finest wines emerging from Spain. He has also built a tremendous portfolio of value-priced wines, as he was the first importer to recognize the high quality wines coming from Jumilla as well as Campo de Borja. Anyone who has ever tasted alongside Jorge understands that he is a perfectionist, insisting on proper temperature and glassware. It is not unusual for him to go through two or three bottles of the same wine until he finds one he believes is representative. Everything he imports is shipped in reefer temperature-controlled containers, and stocked in refrigerated warehouses, both on the Spanish side in Bilbao, and in the United States. Jorge told me that in 2011, they used over 500 thermo recorders embedded in shipments to track the temperature of all his wines, from the winery to the ultimate distributor in the United States and abroad.

Being the obsessive perfectionist that he is, Jorge Ordoñez can sometimes annoy people, and he seems to have no shortage of competitors who are clearly jealous of his great success. However, as always, the proof is in the bottle, and as readers will see in the report that follows, Jorge Ordoñez has a remarkable portfolio of tremendous wine values. I hope I have done justice to them. Certainly, one could say that Jorge Ordoñez is a gift from Bacchus to thrifty wine consumers.