2012 Ovidio Garcia Reserva de Autor Tempranillo Cigales 750ml
Tasting Notes
Black cherry liqueur, baking spices, incense, and forest floor overflow from the glass followed by notes of anise seed, cinnamon, and cardamom. Wildly complex for its price point, it is not short on concentration or opulence, but it retains an exquisite balance as absolutely nothing is out of place. There is a freshness to the wine that really sets it apart from its peers, and its structure is both pure velvet and apparent at the same time. Expressive and with a big personality, the 100+year old vines are really proving their worth here. While this should develop more nuance over the coming 5-7 years, I see no reason to wait as it is absolutely singin'!
About The Winery
For centuries, the Ovidio García family has been known for having enviable healthy and quality vineyards. The philosophy of the winery has been to work hard on their old vines which have belonged to the family, from generation to generation.
The winery was founded in 1999, managed nowadays by the three Garcia brothers: Enrique, Alberto and Javier, and of course their father: Mr. Ovidio Garcia.
Alberto García is the actual winemaker. He has been working at the winery for over 25 years, since he was 15 years old, throughout his life. His father is an authentic wine grower and taught him the trade to make the best use of the vineyards and the winery.
The cellar has an underground floor more than 3 centuries old with a new floor on top of that used for elaboration.
The lowest level has several galleries which were made by hand. They are perfect for storing the old wines because they have just the right humidity and temperature.
There is also an old roman press, which was used to press the grapes with a very long thick beam that is about 15 meters long. Now it ispreserved in the winery as a museum piece.
The family owns 18Ha of 60-100+ year old vines, which is one of the oldest vineyards you can find in Cigales area. Also, the yield per hectare of Ovidio García is only 5.000 kg/ha, being the legal maximum limits in D.O. Cigales 7.000kg/ha. Their grapes have an incredible intense color and flavor due to the selection made during the pruning. They don´t use any pesticides in their vineyards.
Technicals
GRAPE: Tempranillo.
APPELLATION: Cigales DO.
VINIFICATION: Tempranillo grapes from 80-100 years old vines, Hand Harvested; Natural fermentation in stainless steel vats with temperature control 28C/82F, aged 24 months in new French Oak barrels.
TASTING NOTES: High expression wine, deep dark cherry color with a lot of glint showing a perferct balance. Complex, full bodied with very intense flavors of minerals and ripe fruit with a layer of cacao and liquorice. Lovely rich and refined texture with a long finish.
GRAPE: Tempranillo.
APPELLATION: Cigales DO.
VINIFICATION: Tempranillo grapes from 80-100 years old vines, Hand Harvested; Natural fermentation in stainless steel vats with temperature control 28C/82F, aged 24 months in new French Oak barrels.
TASTING NOTES: High expression wine, deep dark cherry color with a lot of glint showing a perferct balance. Complex, full bodied with very intense flavors of minerals and ripe fruit with a layer of cacao and liquorice. Lovely rich and refined texture with a long finish.
FOOD PAIRING: Steak, barbecued pork ribs, beef with mushroom sauce, filet mignon with peppercorn sauce, beef burger with cheddar and bacon.