With a distinctive hand print as their brand, this young couple have made quite a mark on the wine world already.
The Paco Garcia project was born out of something of a dilemma. Juan Bautista Garcia (born 1980) is a winemaker. His family had purchased some vineyards in 2000, built a winery in 2001 and from the age of 21 Juan Bautista had been devoting himself to his family’s project, learning everything he could about winemaking and grapegrowing and forging a career out of something he felt very passionate about. The dilemma was this: for the most part, his friends and contemporaries weren’t wine drinkers. Far from being unique to Juan Bautista, the younger generation across Spain and Italy are drinking considerably less wine than their parents and grandparents. Juan Bautista’s dream was to make a living doing something he loved, something he was talented at and something that would bring pleasure to others. Fortunately, this was a problem he was happy to tackle. Starting with his friends he conducted some tastings to gauge how people react to different wines and he started to get real insight into what people respond to. Armed with this knowledge and using the resources at his fingertips, this winemaking project started to take shape…
The great success of this project has been in Juan Bautista’s ability to create wines that very much respect the rich history and deeply rooted traditions of Rioja but to subtly enhance them with the judicious use of very modern winemaking techniques. A little like a photographer using a filter to enhance certain aspects of a photograph, so Juan Bautista uses modern techniques to enhance the fruit character and mouthfeel of the wines. The wines just taste fresher, more vibrant and more youthful. It was very important to him to still create an artisanal product that he feels proud of – wines that reflect his skills and expertise and craftsmanship that also appeal to a broad audience of younger drinkers as well as those already immersed in wine drinking culture. The wines have been attracting praise from wine critics and collecting a few trophies and medals along the way too.
The hand print belongs to his father without whom this project would never have taken shape. The name Paco Garcia is a tribute to both his father and his older brother, who is sadly no longer with them. The hand print reflects the daily work and strength that goes into the vineyards and the winery to craft these products. It is also unique and identifiable much as these wines carry the handprint of their vineyards and their Rioja history. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place when Ana joined the family and the team: she brings her expertise to getting these wines out into the international market.
This trio of wines have something to offer to everyone
Paco Garcia Rioja Seis 2013
£10.75 / €15.85 Offer Price £9.13 / €13.47
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Seis (meaning 6) refers to the 6 months the wine spends in French oak before being bottled and matured until it is judged perfectly ready for drinking. Rioja is traditionally aged in American oak which has a stronger flavour than French oak. This is a vibrant and fruity style of Rioja that focusses on the flavour of the Tempranillo grape. Charming and easy and highly drinkable.
Paco Garcia Rioja Crianza 2011/2012
£13.50 / €18.99 Offer Price £11.47 / €16.14
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Aged in French oak for 12 months. This is more towards the traditional style but fresh and modern.
“Rioja modern style. Prominent fruit on the nose, plump, sweet notes, very well placed oak. The palate is plump-cushioned, extremely rounded by slightly chewy. It has generous fruit. Tannins are very juicy. It will satisfy a lot of different consumers, it is very easy to enjoy, fruit driven and modern in style. It definitely is a winery to follow with an assured commercial success in the future. 17 pts.” (Ferran Centelles, Jancis Robinson Purple Pages, March 2014).
Beautiful Things 2010
£29.95 / €43.50 Offer Price £25.45 / €43.50
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Top of the Paco Garcia range, this wine epitomises the talents of this winemaker. Even at this level he managed to create a seriously complex and ageworthy wine with his signature voluptuous fruit which comes across on the nose as well as the palate. A beautiful wine for beautiful moments.
