Goyo Garcia - Joven Viñas Viejas, Ribeira del Duero, Spain (2021)

TASTING NOTES 

From high elevation, dry farmed Tempranillo vineyards, this wine sees absolutely zero oak. Lush and fragrant, it's a big wine, but soft on the palate with restrained elegance and minerality that make it easy to drink. A lovely, fresh rendition of Tempranillo, its tense and grippy structure is softened by beautiful ripe raspberries, wet stones and sage herbal notes. The back palate offers chocolate nibs and a long, long finish. Super lovely.

Tasting one of Goyo García Viadero's wines is like taking a delightful trip back in a winemaking time machine. Goyo is a descendant of one of the most well-respected winemaking families in the Ribera de Duero region. 

With vines that are a minimum of 80 years old, Goyo farms three small plots of his  own in the Ribera de Duero, each at different elevations and on different types of soil. Each vineyard is interplanted with both red and white grapes, which he later co-ferments using natural methods, as winemakers did in the older days of Ribera de Duero winemaking.

All of his wines are de-stemmed, fermented exclusively with wild yeast, and nothing is added during elevagé (including SO2). The wines are raised in old French barrels at an underground, century-old cueva located in Gumiel del Mercado.

This method has become somewhat of a trend for more contemporary winemakers. For Goyo, it has been his tried and true way of doing things since he began making wine back in the 80’s. He uses these traditional winemaking methods in order to express a flavour profile that reflects the overall vineyard rather than the individual grape variety.