Artadi Viña El Pisón 2015/2016/2018

Located in the heart of Rioja Alavesa, within the beautiful medieval village of Laguardia, we find Artadi, one of the most acclaimed Spanish wineries today. Artadi's wines are, today, among the best wines in Spain, and a large part of this success is the result of the work carried out by the visionary producer, Juan Carlos López de Lacalle.

Artadi was born from a cooperative in 1985, but it wasn't long before, in 1992, it gained the status of a private company. Obviously Lacalle's dreams were ambitious, and soon his wines began to rank among the best in the country. One of Rioja's pioneers in implementing modern winemaking techniques, Lacalle drastically reduced vineyard yields, introduced French oak and malolactic fermentation in wood. Focusing only on the quality and age of his vineyards, he left aside Rioja's normative commandments that preached long years of wine maturing in large wooden tanks to earn classifications of Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva. For Juan Carlos, there is no point in obeying the standards of designations of origin if the winemaker does not truly believe in the quality of his wines.

During my tour of Rioja, I got to know the winery and Juan's philosophy of making authentic wines, which directly express the characteristics of the people and the region where they are produced. Currently, the flag raised by Lacalle has been the adoption of organic practices in all of its vineyards, although the objective is not to obtain certification.

Artadi has vineyards and bodegas in the regions of Navarra (Artazu) and Alicante (El Seque), but it was in Rioja that it all began. The winery has 70 Ha of vineyards, – with a good portion of old vineyards, such as El Pisón -, located in privileged areas of Rioja Alavessa. In this region the soil is poor, with very particular characteristics, being essentially clayey limestone; the altitude and climate with more moderate temperatures help to bring more elegance to the wines. It is no coincidence that the Tempranillos from this area are among the most extraordinary and complex in the world.

Don't expect anything obvious, Artadi's wines always have a lot of depth and complexity. Viña El Pisón, for example, is an extraordinary single-vineyard tempranillo obtained from vines planted in 1945 on sandy and limestone soils that often achieve very high Robert Parker scores. Another label, Grandes Añadas is produced only in the best vintages, using grapes from vineyards over 70 years old; Pagos Viejos, on the other hand, is obtained from vineyards that are more than 50 years old. Vinas de Gain, also 100% tempranillo from vineyards around 25 years old, is aged in 40% new French oak for 12-14 months.

Artadi El Pisón 2015 is a mature, complex and deep red wine. Lush on the nose, notes of ripe red fruits with very distinct mineral notes surrounded by subtle toasted notes. In the mouth it is powerful and vibrant, delicately revealing austerity, very round and with an eternal finish.