The Devotion of Ribera del Duero’s Goyo Garcia Viadero
Taken from Jose Pastor Selections Gallery
A couple years ago, we took a little field trip to Spain to meet a few of our newest producers at the time, most (if not all) were and still are a part of the Jose Pastor Selections portfolio - our import partner. I am actually laughing out loud at the some of the things we saw and said between visits. That trip was laced with so much subtext, punctuated with ridiculously funny moments.
The day we rolled into Ribera del Duero, for example, I remember we heard endlessly about ‘puppy sheep’, the saddest translation for a local delicacy of barely weaned sheep. A suckling pig of sorts, but possibly cuter. A taste of regional cuisine became an over the top lunch, and we proceeded to roll out of the restaurant to check in to our hotel before meeting with Goyo Garcia Viadero.
Goyo comes from a long line of winemakers in this region. And while it is all the rage now to make wines more naturally, site specifically, sans oak asfyxiation, Goyo was one of the first in his area to break out and nurture wines in this way. His vision was clear, and in 2003 he set out on his own to realize this idea. He was inspired by those in Burgundy but especially the Jura.
His dark, musty cellar has the feel of France, as we visited each individual barrel on that visit, as though they were his children. Watching him that day discuss his parcels and tend to his barrels, I understood that he was among the few winemakers I have come across that are truly devoted to their craft - almost inseparable from the thing itself. Yes, there are many dedicated winemakers - they are a dime a dozen. But devotion is something different altogether. It requires complete engagement - your entire being… a way of living. And you give it… almost effortlessly. Not without hard work or sacrifice… but as though it is as necessary for your own survival as you are to its existence. A true art.
That evening, he invited us to have pintxos (you know… tapas, snacks… bites). Still holding our tummies from lunch, we didn’t want to seem rude, so of course we went. We would share a drink, a little nosh, and be on our way. We met him at what seemed the most casual of bars. Over beer, we had some laughs. He mentioned they were preparing our table. I was curious what that meant. Soon enough, I learned. We were taken to a private dining room, as I recall. Pintxos became an 18 course Michelin style meal. I was literally in tears from humor and pain by the end of that evening. Never has a meal hurt so good. In those couple hours, I continued to learn more about this man. He was absolutely one of a kind, forthright, full of opinions and intelligent observations about the world. To know him and witness his curious engagement with the world is to understand the creative expressions he achieves in his wine.
Ribera del Duero is a pretty incredible place - sharing some similarities with Colorado’s western slope even. It’s high, dry, and enjoys a pretty intense diurnal shift. Goyo works on vineyards as high as about 3,000 feet in elevation. Compared to Rioja, RdD wines are often more deeply pigmented and usually straight Tempranillo, though Goyo experiments with co-fermentation. From red sand and river stones to chalky, calcaire, the soils are also incredibly diverse and allow for a wide range of textures, aromatics, and styles to come through in these wines.
Goyo primarily works off single parcels in Ribera del Duero, but he also bottles a couple beauties from Cantabria - his happy place in the mountains where his mother resides. He tends to head-pruned, old vines, picks to maintain acidity, and nurtures each cuvee with care in his cellars. His philosophy is simple: native yeasts, minimal to no sulfur until bottling (if that), destemmed fruit, elevage in French barrels, no fining, no filtration, no nonsense. These wines are the most Burgundian in style I have ever tasted from Ribera del Duero.
While we only carry a couple of his wines, we have access to a wide range of his creations through special order. Below are notes from Jose Pastor Selections site. You can view what we have in stock, and share with your customers pricing for others that are available for special order (full case only).
Goyo Garcia Ribera del Duero 'Viñas Viejas' Joven 2019 -IN STOCK - This is Goyo’s only non-oaked red wine, from a dry-farmed vineyard planted entirely to Tempranillo at high elevation. The grapes are hand-harvested, destemmed and fermented with wild yeasts in steel tank with 3 months of skin maceration, then raised entirely in tank before being bottled without fining, filtration or any addition of SO2.
2015 Goyo Garcia Ribera del Duero Finca El Peruco 2015 (6 x 750ml) - IN STOCK - Comprised of 85% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) and 15% Albillo, this single vineyard sits at 1,000 meters elevation, one of the highest points in the Ribera del Duero, on profoundly chalky, clay-calcareous soils. The wine is fermented in a small foudre and then raised in 14 year old barrels for 2-3 years and then another year or two in bottle before release. No sulfur or any other winemaking products are used in the making of this wine.
Special Order (full case requests only):
2020 Goyo Garcia "Georgieva" Blanco ØØ - This slighly orange wine is made from centenarian vines of Albillo & Malvasia, hand-harvested, destemmed, and pressed in an old-fashioned basket press. The wine is fermented with wild yeasts in steel vat with about 25 days skin contact, and then raised in the same vat on fine lees, bottled in early spring without fining, filtration or added SO2.
2020 Goyo Garcia "Beatum" Blanco ØØ - Comprised of 100% old bush vine Palomino grown on brown slate soils in between 500-600 meters elevation around the town of Potes in the Valle de Liébana, Picos de Europa, Cantabria - Beatum Blanco is fermented on the skins in stainless steel tanks without added yeast, sulfur, or any exogenous winemaking products.
2015 Goyo Garcia Ribera del Duero "Viñas de Arcilla” ØØ - This cuvee is 100% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo). It comes from a very old vineyard, where clay predominates, and the elevation is 800 meters. Produced with a similar vinification and elevage as his other Ribera del Duero parcel red wines, Arcilla is the fullest and most lush of his wines.
2015 Goyo Garcia Ribera del Duero "Finca Valdeolmos” ØØ - Comprised of 90% Tinto Fino and 10% Albillo (Goyo co-ferments whatever is in the vineyard) grown on stony, sandy, limestone soils, and vinified like the other Ribera del Duero parcel wines that Goyo makes, Finca Valdeolmos is the most vertical and aromatic of his red wines.
2018 Goyo Garcia Ribera del Duero Finca Los Quemados Tinto ØØ - This single vineyard is planted entirely to Tempranillo at high elevation. The grapes are hand-harvested, destemmed and fermented with wild yeasts in steel tank with 3 months of skin maceration, then raised 12 months in 8-10 year-old French oak barriques. Bottling is without fining, filtration or any addition of SO2.