2006 Cooperativa Vinicola Agraria San Isidro Bullas Juan Garcia - Cepas del Zorro

RJonWine.com

• By Richard Jennings
  3/2/2011, (See more on RJonWine.com...) 86 points

  (Cooperativa Vinicola Agraria San Isidro Bullas Juan Garcia - Cepas del Zorro) Slightly bricking medium dark red violet color; reduction, tart red berry, charcoal, graphite nose; reduction, tart red berry, tart red plum, charcoal palate with some sweetness; medium-plus finish

• By Richard Jennings
  2/21/2010, (See more on RJonWine.com...) 86 points

  (Cooperativa Vinicola Agraria San Isidro Bullas Juan Garcia - Cepas del Zorro) Medium garnet red color with pale meniscus; dried berry, dried cherry nose; light-medium-bodied, tart cherry, garrigue, mineral palate with a hint of anise; medium finish

• By Richard Jennings
  4/19/2009, (See more on RJonWine.com...) 85 points

  (Cooperativa Vinicola Agraria San Isidro Bullas Juan Garcia - Cepas del Zorro) Dark red violet color; charcoal, tart black fruit nose; tart, herbal black fruit, charcoal and bay laurel palate, with firm tannin; short finish 85+ pts.

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  6/24/2008, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (Juan Garcia (San Isidro) CEPAS DEL ZORRO) Post Modern #2 Dear Friends, Yesterday we debuted a white wine from the new movement in Spain and today it is a red, from the most unlikely of places - Bullas, the next frontier of Spain. Juan Garcia, a fourth generation winemaker from this high altitude zone surrounded by natural parks and mountains (south of Valencia), is set to make this region the northern Rhone of Spain - but instead of Syrah, he's doing it with Mouvedre. In some ways this is like blending the Northern Rhone and Southern Rhone with a dash of Spanish mystery and laying it out there for all to see. There is no oak, no tricks - nothing. In a very interesting interpretation, he takes the young wine from his best, most concentrated vines (over 100 years of age) and immediately removes it from tank ageing after only a few months. It is then rushed to bottle to retain the acidity and freshness and there (in bottle) it is ages for two full years in the cellar. Sometimes called the "Dos Anos del Zorro" (two years of the fox), Garcia believes that if he traps the wine at a very early stage, all on the development and complexity will be "trapped" within the bottle and it will come out with aeration by the consumer, instead of evolving in tank. He wants a wine that is ready to drink on it's 2nd or 3rd birthday but will also last for several years after. This process also allows him to keep a Northern Rhone-like mid-weight character and low alcohol (12.5-13.0%) but stuff the bottle with dense, complex fruit that is more akin to the Southern Rhone. Yin and yang that meet in the middle and together it adds up to the Post Modern new face of Spain. No oak, low-alcohol, brimming sense of place and (yes it's true) acidity - all from the south of Spain. From 100% Mouvedre grown at close to 2000ft above sea level, this wine is like a home project of the highest order made from the fruit equivalent of something like Brunel's Centenaire source. To say this is one of the highest quality vineyards in Spain with unlimited potential is not a stretch. He has what others dream of - elevation, sun, fabulous soil, perfect exposure, century-old vines and an area that will not dictate a style that he has to follow. In the Post Modern mind, that is exactly what the young winemakers are looking for - a chance to create their own blueprint and be the new guard, the new Vega Sicilia of Spain. Even though he has no winery and does everything himself (like an artist with a mission), that's the way Juan Garcia wants it. The Cepas del Zorro is going to get noticed. This is not a chemistry lab wine created with 100,000 cases. It is a boutique wine of the highest order, made from a remarkable vineyard by a remarkable visionary that as harnessed the light-spirited soul of a place (and of a grape) in a glass enclosure. Not that this affects the wine but it has one of the more beautiful traditional labels from Spain depicting a fox's attempt at grape thievery - it is always remembered by those that see it and we hope he never changes the artistry - it is as homespun as the lovely, mineral drenched wine inside. This rustic wine is alive and it will be obvious when you taste it. How can he sell at this price? Why not? He has no one but himself to pay and he's already done that with the artistic process. A real gem. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for century-old vine reflection of place and soul: 2006 Juan Garcia (San Isidro) "Cepas de Zorro" (the Fox) Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Spain8790