A traditional Tempranillo that is varietally correct, full of tobacco, earth, pencil shavings and blackberry fruit. Complex and balanced in the mouth, the wine is a perfect addition to any tapa dinner.
New oak levels are limited to 25% and that is split equally between French and American. Total production at the winery is limited to 200,000 bottles per year, thus allowing an optimal quality level for each wine produced.
Specs
Varietal: 100% Tempranillo
Aging: 12 months in 50% French and 50% American oak
Bright red cherry color with slight purplish nuance around the edge. Intense aroma on the nose, combining fruit notes with elegant aging aromas. The palate is smooth and well balanced, with a long and intense finish.
If youâve traveled in Spain, you have likely seen this brand, as itâs one of the best distributed brands among restaurants.
Specs
Varietal Blend: 90% Tempranillo, 10% Mazuelo
Aging: 6 months in American oak
Alcohol: 13.5%
2019 Bodegas Garcia Paco Garcia Seis Rioja, Spain
91 Points, James Suckling
Tasting Notes
2019 Paco Garcia Seis is the perfect daily wine. This fresh, fun, stunning wine will make you feel like itâs Friday every day!
Aromas of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and violets are followed by a pleasant, fresh, fine, and round palate. This is the perfect wine to drink by itself or pair it with some typical Spanish tapas and pintxos.
2019 is looking to be a very promising vintage in Rioja. James Suckling described it as âvery balanced, a very good vintageâ.
Bodegas Paco GarcĂa is the perfect combination of modernity and tradition. This family-owned winery started with the dream of Paco GarcĂa and Julia Pablo back in 2001, when they founded a small and boutique winery in Murillo de RĂo Leza, in the amazing Rioja. The logo of the winery is the hand of Francisco GarcĂa, and it has a very important meaning - it represents his âlove and support for the land, traditions, and people.â
Juan, Pacoâs son, had the great fortune to live and grow up among wines and vines; for more than 6 years, he and his partner have been managing this impressive winery. They both seek to develop a strong culture of wine around the world, so they have focused on producing friendly wines of the highest quality. Their wines will make the most expert palate fall in love (including critics like James Suckling), but also new and fresh palates.
Bodegas Zuazo Gaston is a family producer with a history stretching back to 1850. Located in the little village of OyĂłn (Alava), Bodegas Zuazo Gaston is a family winery owned and managed by Prudencio Zuazo Gaston. The Zuazo Gaston family have been grape growers in the Rioja for hundreds of years following the age-old practice of selling off their grapes to the larger, regional cooperative wineries.
In 2001 Prudencio founded his winery with the goal of producing wine from only the best grapes of the estate. He still sells off a sizable portion of the production but keeps the best for himself. The vineyards include more than 100 acres of calcareous clay soil where Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo, and Graciano grape varieties are cultivated. The vines are an average age of 30 years, and are located about 450 meters above sea level, taking advantage of good orientation and long, sunny days. Yields are controlled to about 4,000 kilograms/hectare.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
(the one on the right in the picture). (Incidentally, thereâs no mention of the vintage on the bottle except for a wee little âCosecha 2020â on the D.O.C. sticker at the bottom. Go figure.) Nice to try something from a little further afield than we normally get around these parts; Rioja usually hits a sweet spot of value and quality for my tastes, and this bottle is no exception.
The bottle arrived on Tuesday; we cellared it for a couple of days and opened it earlier this evening. On P&P, a fruity tart aroma is immediately noticeable. First taste is fruity as well, with lingering tartness followed by a hint of spice and a distinct bitterness on the back of the palate. Neither of us enjoyed that experience on the first sip, but the bad attitude didnât last. We let the wine open up for a few minutes; I changed my mind at sip #2, Mrs. Z needed a few more minutes to warm up to the experience.
After getting over our initial reaction, we both concluded that the initial front-of-the-palate flavor is blackberry. Mrs. Z says the taste on the back of the tongue is black pepper, and I mostly agree with her. To me, that lingering taste is most reminiscent of a bitter French aperitif. I realize this is an obscure reference point, but if you enjoy gentian-based bitter liqueurs (like Suze or Salers), I think youâll find that the astringent note on the finish is very reminiscent of that flavor. Those drinks are something of an acquired taste, so maybe this experience is too? All I can say is that we both ended up quite enjoying it⊠it lends a little complexity to what would otherwise be a straightforward table wine.
After concluding that we enjoyed the wine on its own, I had a hunch weâd like it even more with dinner (thin crust bacon pizza, fried chicken, caesar salad). âPizza wineâ isnât always a compliment, but this really felt like we were about to stumble into the right pairing. That instinct was correct. The wine really sang with the pizza, and was a perfectly nice pairing with the chicken and salad too. (Alas, it lost all character and flavor when tasted with the homemade French vanilla ice cream for dessert, but thatâs the least surprising news in the world.)
Weâve left a few drams in the bottle and stuffed a cork back in it; weâll try to drink another glass tomorrow afternoon and report back, just for science. Iâm skeptical that it will be more interesting in 24 hours, but thatâs why they play the games.
Bottom line: this is a nice and intriguing table wine that would probably go well with any number of summer-type meals. Pintxos sounds about right. I wouldnât plan to serve it with your beef bourguignon come winter time.  We decided after tasting it that at a $10 price point weâd be buyers, and at $20 weâd take a pass. At the case price itâs pretty tempting, but Iâll be mightily curious to hear what other rats have to say about the companion bottles.
Feel free to give a shout with any questions; Iâll try to report back tomorrow to see how things progress after a good nightâs rest.
@jakezim Well, well, well, looks like I was majorly wrong last night. Turns out this sucker is actually tastier 24 hours later! Iâd call it more well-rounded and less astringent, but it still has that nice berry-forward note followed by a wisp of spice and bitterness at the end. Itâs just more subtle now, perfect for a pre-dinner tipple. Mrs. Z agrees completely, âyesterday I liked it, today I love it.â Maybe we shouldnât be so surprised, after all this is a super-young wine. Lesson learned: if you open this guy right away, maybe decant it for best results.
@kaolis@kitkat34 Shipping everything is expensive. (Why WCC probably would justify why the case price is rarely lower than 50% off these days where it used to be standard.) I love when my âfree shippingâ kickstarter monthly fee gets tacked on to the price. Oh, you mean my $5 in perpetuity for 6 years is worth the same as a just signed up $6 for this month for free shipping. THANKS!
Seriously though, I could see why WCC gets Australian wines, but why would it be cost effective to ship a ton of wine from Spain, to California, then to have it reshipped to Ohio? I bet WCC is paying a few dollars a bottle for this.
@kaolis@kitkat34@KNmeh7 FWIW, WCC isnât an importer. Somebody else has already paid for that shipping and builds that in to whatever discounts theyâre willing to give to WD.
Good morning, all! I received the golden ticket to taste the
2019 Bodegas Garcia Paco Garcia Seis Rioja, Spain
(2019? only a secondary sticker implies date). Bottle had to cycle through local UPS for a couple days since they no longer offer free holds (at least around here). However, I could not detect any shock after it sat for a couple days.
Bottle is mostly in Spanish, but weâre looking at a Tempranillo âmatured 6 months in the wineryâ at 13.5% alcohol.
Upon opening, the wine has a lovely medium intensity purple color. Initially the wine was chilled and very tight. The nose was only indistinguishable dark red fruit and an earthy-herbal notes. A slight smokiness was also detectable. The wine opens a lot at room temperature and with some open time. Violets, dark cherry, and fig became prominent. A slight cedar undertone shows as well. The body of the wine Iâd call medium with a smooth, juiciness. Tannins are well integrated and acidy is medium plus. Wine is dry, and the alcohol is not noticeable. Much of what I consider typical Tempranillo flavors that mirror the nose are here. There is a slight meatiness in the mid pallet before giving way to a long tart finish with a mild spiciness. The spice tames the second day.
We paired brick oven pizza with red sauce, mozzarella, tomatoes, roasted red pepper, garlic cloves, artichoke hearts, red onion and chicken with pesto and Calabrian chili oil drizzles. A lot going on with each slice but integrates well. The wine held up to the flavors, however it mostly highlighted the spice on the chili oil. We later had some assorted fresh fruit, and the pairing was especially good with the strawberries where both the fruit in both were highlighted.
This is a nice, young Tempranillo that can be sipped by itself (after some open time) but would work well with tapas and charcuterie. Weâre planning a pork-based dish tonight to see if that will more align than the pizza did last night and will update with some notes.
Value looks pretty darn good on the case price. Need to look and see if thereâs room for some Spanish reds in the cellar after an extended SIWBM.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2018 Mixed Spanish Riojas - $55 = 27.49%
My bottle arrived on a Tuesday, and I was surprised to open the box to find a bottle written mostly in Spanish. This is my first ratting of an imported wine, so I was excited. Iâve had Rioja before and really enjoyed it. I also prefer my Rioja chilled, so I chucked it in the fridge. In the meantime, I googled this particular wine and saw that reviews were really all over the place, depending on the year. Some reviews were shining, and some panned the wine - so I wasnât quite sure what to expect.
Opened the wine on Thursday evening to share with the husband. The initial nose straight from the bottle seemed like it was going to be really dry, with a kind of a dusty earthy tobacco smell.  I didnât recall this being my experience with Riojas in the past and I was only having a salad, so I was a bit worried this was going to be too overpowering. I poured it anyway and my husband immediately said âholy wow, thatâs a beautiful redâ, and I agreed (itâs a deep deep garnet color). Once the wine was in the glass, the nose was more prune, raisin, and something else that I couldnât quite put my finger on at the time. I braced myself for my first sip to be drier than expected, but I was pleasantly surprised. Itâs dry, but itâs not. I guess the best way to describe it was that itâs a sweet dry? (Honestly, Iâm still struggling on what not-wine thing I could compare it to) Iâm just so used to reds having so much tannin in them that they suck the moisture out of my mouth - which this did not do in the slightest.
I kept sipping and could absolutely taste the prune/raisin I detected, but then that canât-put-my-finger-on-it smell hit me. Tamarind - and thatâs where my brain stayed with this wine.
We also tried some blue cheese with it, as well as some chocolate, and it turns out this wine is a bit of a chameleon. It worked with both of these foods, as well as the salad, but the flavor profile of the wine completely changed each time. At least it managed to keep up with the food we threw at it.
The only downside to this wine is it doesnât taste âexpensiveâ. It actually reminds me of when I worked at a popular Italian restaurant (no, not that one - the other one) back in the day. Itâs reminiscent of the house red they offered, which isnât a BAD thing, but itâs not great either. So this wine might be better suited to be the third or fourth bottle in the evening, when superior taste isnât as important.
And while this isnât the best wine Iâve ever had, itâs still a very drinkable wine and we both quite enjoyed it. In fact, we enjoyed it so much that we emptied the bottle before I could even think to take pictures of it with the cats, or before I could let it sit to breathe a little so I could do a second pass!
2018 Bodegas Zuazo Gaston Rioja Crianza, Spain
90 Points, Guia PeñĂn Wine Guide
Tasting Notes
Specs
2020 Bodegas Zuazo Gaston Vendemia Seleccionada Rioja, Spain
91 Points, Guia PeñĂn Wine Guide
Tasting Notes
Specs
2019 Bodegas Garcia Paco Garcia Seis Rioja, Spain
91 Points, James Suckling
Tasting Notes
Specs
Whatâs Included
3-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale online, $400/case MSRP
About The Winery
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Jun 6 - Thursday, Jun 9
Mixed Spanish Riojas
3 bottles for $49.99 $16.66/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $144.99 $12.08/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2018 Bodegas Zuazo Gaston Rioja Crianza
2020 Bodegas Zuazo Gaston Vendemia Seleccionada Rioja
2019 Bodegas Garcia Paco Garcia Seis Rioja
We had the pleasure of labratting the
2020 Zuazo Gaston Vendimia Seleccionada Rioja
(the one on the right in the picture). (Incidentally, thereâs no mention of the vintage on the bottle except for a wee little âCosecha 2020â on the D.O.C. sticker at the bottom. Go figure.) Nice to try something from a little further afield than we normally get around these parts; Rioja usually hits a sweet spot of value and quality for my tastes, and this bottle is no exception.
The bottle arrived on Tuesday; we cellared it for a couple of days and opened it earlier this evening. On P&P, a fruity tart aroma is immediately noticeable. First taste is fruity as well, with lingering tartness followed by a hint of spice and a distinct bitterness on the back of the palate. Neither of us enjoyed that experience on the first sip, but the bad attitude didnât last. We let the wine open up for a few minutes; I changed my mind at sip #2, Mrs. Z needed a few more minutes to warm up to the experience.
After getting over our initial reaction, we both concluded that the initial front-of-the-palate flavor is blackberry. Mrs. Z says the taste on the back of the tongue is black pepper, and I mostly agree with her. To me, that lingering taste is most reminiscent of a bitter French aperitif. I realize this is an obscure reference point, but if you enjoy gentian-based bitter liqueurs (like Suze or Salers), I think youâll find that the astringent note on the finish is very reminiscent of that flavor. Those drinks are something of an acquired taste, so maybe this experience is too? All I can say is that we both ended up quite enjoying it⊠it lends a little complexity to what would otherwise be a straightforward table wine.
After concluding that we enjoyed the wine on its own, I had a hunch weâd like it even more with dinner (thin crust bacon pizza, fried chicken, caesar salad). âPizza wineâ isnât always a compliment, but this really felt like we were about to stumble into the right pairing. That instinct was correct. The wine really sang with the pizza, and was a perfectly nice pairing with the chicken and salad too. (Alas, it lost all character and flavor when tasted with the homemade French vanilla ice cream for dessert, but thatâs the least surprising news in the world.)
Weâve left a few drams in the bottle and stuffed a cork back in it; weâll try to drink another glass tomorrow afternoon and report back, just for science. Iâm skeptical that it will be more interesting in 24 hours, but thatâs why they play the games.
Bottom line: this is a nice and intriguing table wine that would probably go well with any number of summer-type meals. Pintxos sounds about right. I wouldnât plan to serve it with your beef bourguignon come winter time.  We decided after tasting it that at a $10 price point weâd be buyers, and at $20 weâd take a pass. At the case price itâs pretty tempting, but Iâll be mightily curious to hear what other rats have to say about the companion bottles.
Feel free to give a shout with any questions; Iâll try to report back tomorrow to see how things progress after a good nightâs rest.
@jakezim Well, well, well, looks like I was majorly wrong last night. Turns out this sucker is actually tastier 24 hours later! Iâd call it more well-rounded and less astringent, but it still has that nice berry-forward note followed by a wisp of spice and bitterness at the end. Itâs just more subtle now, perfect for a pre-dinner tipple. Mrs. Z agrees completely, âyesterday I liked it, today I love it.â Maybe we shouldnât be so surprised, after all this is a super-young wine. Lesson learned: if you open this guy right away, maybe decant it for best results.
Guia PeñĂn (?) on the 2018:
90 Points. Color: bright cherry, Aroma: red fruit, wild herbs, smoked, spicy, Mouth: fruity, tasty, balanced, smoky aftertaste, some persistence, dry but ripe tannins. Tasted 2021. 12,00⏠retail price in Spain (Provided by the winery)
And on the 2020:
91 Points. Color:cherry, purple rim, Aroma black fruit, ripe fruit, spicy, smoky, dried herbs, Flavour, flavourful, balanced, toasty, slightly dry, soft tannins. Tasted 2021. 8,00⏠retail price in Spain (Provided by the winery)
The 2019 was just offered in March. Comments/rats/Suckling pontification here:
https://casemates.com/forum/topics/bodegas-paco-garcia-seis-rioja
fwiw
@kaolis wow, 8eu⊠so much for the $35/bottle comparisons on wine searcher. Shipping across the big pond is expensive!
@kaolis @kitkat34 Shipping everything is expensive. (Why WCC probably would justify why the case price is rarely lower than 50% off these days where it used to be standard.) I love when my âfree shippingâ kickstarter monthly fee gets tacked on to the price. Oh, you mean my $5 in perpetuity for 6 years is worth the same as a just signed up $6 for this month for free shipping. THANKS!
Seriously though, I could see why WCC gets Australian wines, but why would it be cost effective to ship a ton of wine from Spain, to California, then to have it reshipped to Ohio? I bet WCC is paying a few dollars a bottle for this.
@kaolis @kitkat34 @KNmeh7 FWIW, WCC isnât an importer. Somebody else has already paid for that shipping and builds that in to whatever discounts theyâre willing to give to WD.
@kaolis @klezman @KNmeh7 agreed
Good morning, all! I received the golden ticket to taste the
2019 Bodegas Garcia Paco Garcia Seis Rioja, Spain
(2019? only a secondary sticker implies date). Bottle had to cycle through local UPS for a couple days since they no longer offer free holds (at least around here). However, I could not detect any shock after it sat for a couple days.
Bottle is mostly in Spanish, but weâre looking at a Tempranillo âmatured 6 months in the wineryâ at 13.5% alcohol.
Upon opening, the wine has a lovely medium intensity purple color. Initially the wine was chilled and very tight. The nose was only indistinguishable dark red fruit and an earthy-herbal notes. A slight smokiness was also detectable. The wine opens a lot at room temperature and with some open time. Violets, dark cherry, and fig became prominent. A slight cedar undertone shows as well. The body of the wine Iâd call medium with a smooth, juiciness. Tannins are well integrated and acidy is medium plus. Wine is dry, and the alcohol is not noticeable. Much of what I consider typical Tempranillo flavors that mirror the nose are here. There is a slight meatiness in the mid pallet before giving way to a long tart finish with a mild spiciness. The spice tames the second day.
We paired brick oven pizza with red sauce, mozzarella, tomatoes, roasted red pepper, garlic cloves, artichoke hearts, red onion and chicken with pesto and Calabrian chili oil drizzles. A lot going on with each slice but integrates well. The wine held up to the flavors, however it mostly highlighted the spice on the chili oil. We later had some assorted fresh fruit, and the pairing was especially good with the strawberries where both the fruit in both were highlighted.
This is a nice, young Tempranillo that can be sipped by itself (after some open time) but would work well with tapas and charcuterie. Weâre planning a pork-based dish tonight to see if that will more align than the pizza did last night and will update with some notes.
Value looks pretty darn good on the case price. Need to look and see if thereâs room for some Spanish reds in the cellar after an extended SIWBM.
Thank you to Alice and the WCC team!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2018 Mixed Spanish Riojas - $55 = 27.49%
2018 Zuazo Gaston Crianza Rioja
My bottle arrived on a Tuesday, and I was surprised to open the box to find a bottle written mostly in Spanish. This is my first ratting of an imported wine, so I was excited. Iâve had Rioja before and really enjoyed it. I also prefer my Rioja chilled, so I chucked it in the fridge. In the meantime, I googled this particular wine and saw that reviews were really all over the place, depending on the year. Some reviews were shining, and some panned the wine - so I wasnât quite sure what to expect.
Opened the wine on Thursday evening to share with the husband. The initial nose straight from the bottle seemed like it was going to be really dry, with a kind of a dusty earthy tobacco smell.  I didnât recall this being my experience with Riojas in the past and I was only having a salad, so I was a bit worried this was going to be too overpowering. I poured it anyway and my husband immediately said âholy wow, thatâs a beautiful redâ, and I agreed (itâs a deep deep garnet color). Once the wine was in the glass, the nose was more prune, raisin, and something else that I couldnât quite put my finger on at the time. I braced myself for my first sip to be drier than expected, but I was pleasantly surprised. Itâs dry, but itâs not. I guess the best way to describe it was that itâs a sweet dry? (Honestly, Iâm still struggling on what not-wine thing I could compare it to) Iâm just so used to reds having so much tannin in them that they suck the moisture out of my mouth - which this did not do in the slightest.
I kept sipping and could absolutely taste the prune/raisin I detected, but then that canât-put-my-finger-on-it smell hit me. Tamarind - and thatâs where my brain stayed with this wine.
We also tried some blue cheese with it, as well as some chocolate, and it turns out this wine is a bit of a chameleon. It worked with both of these foods, as well as the salad, but the flavor profile of the wine completely changed each time. At least it managed to keep up with the food we threw at it.
The only downside to this wine is it doesnât taste âexpensiveâ. It actually reminds me of when I worked at a popular Italian restaurant (no, not that one - the other one) back in the day. Itâs reminiscent of the house red they offered, which isnât a BAD thing, but itâs not great either. So this wine might be better suited to be the third or fourth bottle in the evening, when superior taste isnât as important.
And while this isnât the best wine Iâve ever had, itâs still a very drinkable wine and we both quite enjoyed it. In fact, we enjoyed it so much that we emptied the bottle before I could even think to take pictures of it with the cats, or before I could let it sit to breathe a little so I could do a second pass!
Everyone is buying theyâre just not talking about it.
What are you afraid ofâŠ.hmmm?
The fact that you love Tempranillo?!!
I wish my wine would ship! Canât wait to try it, just takes forever seems for 12 bottles to be put in a box and shipped!
@eminnick ââŠMixed Spanish Riojas has shippedâ email hit my inbox today
@eminnick âŠi just checked tracking and itâs out for delivery