Gil Berzal "Buscando" Garnacha Natural 2022

Press 4 Mix/Red • May 2025 Direct Press Selection

One of the most exciting wines we've come across recently is this Garnacha from Laguardia, in the Basque part of Rioja. It's fermented and aged in concrete with minimal pressing and zero sulfur additions. The estate is about 14 hectares. Brothers Saul and Benjamin Gil Berzal divide up the winemaking and vineyard management, respectively. They are wines that vividly show off the terroir of this part of Rioja without any of the spoof associated with the region's longstanding use of new American oak. Farming is biodynamic and the winemaking is incredibly astute, resulting in a range of wines. Some capture the power and elegance of the great, ageworthy Riojas.

Others, like the zero-sulfur "Buscando" line, are very provocative for such a staid region, making them very delicious outliers that offer a new way into Rioja by way of its more rustic history of peasant wines. Importer David Cascione says "It's amazing to think that a producer like Saul asks the question ]what was wine like in my village a century ago?' and New Yorkers get the chance to learn about it before most madrileños [Madrid residents] do." As we reflect on what changes lie ahead with trade wars and tariffs, the ability to encourage more winemakers to take chances like this is certainly one of the special things about the NY wine market.

The Buscando Garnacha is beautiful wine with blueberry, black cherry, and energetic lift. It's not super heavy but does have some chewy, almost Nebbiolo-like tannin, but the fruit remains finessed and fresh on top, with softer perfumed notes as well. The wine has a taut tension and clarity, ready to drink now. Zero sulfur added but it's not funky at all, which reflects the intense care and precision going into the winemaking at Gil Berzal. Jonathan Kemp