Artadi El Pison Vertical Tasting with Carlos Lopez de Lacalle at WWWB

Friday, September 29, 2017 - 07:30 PM

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“Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people.”
– Shakespeare

 

Tonight we have a chance to catch up with Carlos Lopez de Lacalle, the next generation at Artadi winery, one of the iconic new producers of Rioja.  They have been getting a lot of press lately not only for their wines but in a shocking turn of events they decided to leave the Rioja DOC, which is the most recognized wine in Spain and considered to be among the world's most prestigious wine growing regions. 

I can only think of one other producer that has taken the most prestigious title in wine off the bottle in a movement to differentiate their brand from the others.  Angelo Gaja did this with his single vineyard Barbaresco and Barolos with the 1996 vintage releases.

The range at Artadi now is three tiers, they have varietal wines, village wines and single vineyard wines, none of their wines will have the DOC of Rioja on them. 

Join us as we taste through the new line-up of wines from this revolutionary wine producer of Rioja with our host Carlos Lopez de Lacalle.  Toni Lampasone will make a special meal to compliment the tasting wines and the fee for this event is $150 + tax.  For reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

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Artadi Wine Dinner with Carlos Lopez de Lacalle at Wine Watch
Friday, September 29th 2017
7:30 PM

 

Tasting Line-Up:

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Artadi Valdegines 2013

Valdeginés is a fresh, single-vineyard Tempranillo that always has plenty of licorice and even aniseed aromas. As they do with all the single-vineyard wines, Valdeginñes is also fermented in oak vats and matured in French oak barriques.

This is a cool vineyard that produces fresh wines. It has a fine texture, good acidity and is a happy wine. It doesn't have the strict minerality found in other vineyards like Carretil; here the fruit is more upfront. There is no need to wait but time will bring extra complexity. Drink 2017-2022  Luis Gutierrez eRobertParker.com #218 Apr 2015

Image result for Artadi La Poza de Ballesteros 2013

Artadi La Poza de Ballesteros 2013

The 2013 vintage in Alava was marked by the high rainfall levels throughout the growing cycle. The low temperatures in Spring delayed the sprouting of the plant, putting back the harvest until mid October. A low production and a long growing season resulted in an optimal phenolic maturation in spite of the low temperatures.

This vineyard gives us “thick stroke” wines. We feel the presence of volume and the intense flavors of very ripe fruit. We notice broad, round and dense tannins, typical from a vineyard with character.

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Artadi El Carretil 2013
Price: $245.00    Sale $215.60

A wine with deep sensations: one can feel the vibrant fruit along with fibrous and sculpted tannins. A fusion between ripe flavor profiles and the precision of mineral characters, the projection of fine tannins and the encompassing texture of a delicate wine.
Clay-limestone set on a sandstone rock with calcareous precipitation placed on the highest and poorest areas. In the deepest and freshest areas we find soil which lies on a significant clay-limestone layer. Depth between 40 and 90 cm.

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2013 Artadi Valdegines Rioja Laguardia
Price: $67.50    Your Price: $59.40

These two vineyards are within 50 meters of each other this one is facing east (Morning Sun) and the other is facing west (afternoon sun), the soils are the same and this is the only difference. This wine has a beautiful bouquet with fresh flowers, strawberry jam like fruit very intense and has a forward and appealing nature right after opening. Rich and concentrated on the tongue with a good deal of red berry fruit, a nice hand of spice and that pretty floral nuance from the nose lasting through the finish. Finish 50+ Most Excellent
Image result for 2013 Artadi La Poza De Ballesteros
2013 Artadi La Poza De Ballesteros
Price: $127.50    Your Price: $112.20

This wine is a bit bigger more, they don’t make a big extraction to make the wines more drinkable upon opening.  There is a good deal of ripe forward red berry fruit, floral perfume and some fresh earthy notes and sweet herbs. Fat and rich on the tongue with an abundance of red and black berry fruit, a good hand of spice, pretty incense spice and more this wine is very big but has wonderful freshness and a long layered finish, even better on the second day. Finish 50+ Most Excellent +

Image result for 2013 Artadi Vina El Pison Rioja Alavesa

2013 Artadi Vina El Pison Rioja Alvesa

The inimitable Viña El Pisón produces a wine which is a reflection of the competence of our ancestors and the passion of those who want to keep the spirit of a vineyard alive.

The delicate balance between all of the natural agents that comprise this unique environment produces a wine that is full of subtle minerality, fine fruit, both complex and delicate seasoned nuances and tannins that have enveloping and caressing volumes. This is a wine with surprising expressivity; a wine with a natural elegance that provokes deep and changing feelings.

 

2012 Artadi Vina El Pison Rioja Alvesa
Price: $354.00    Your Price: $311.52

This is a single vineyard planted by Juan Carlos Lopez de Lacalle's grandfather, 2.3 acres in 1945 only 300 cases for the world. This wine has a very intense bouquet of dark cherry and wild strawberry jam like fruit, a good hand of fresh plowed earth, soy, espresso and dark chocolate very intense and rich bouquet of aromas. Wow- a big and chewy wine with lots of ripe delicious fruit, firm tannins and a nice hand of acidity, this wine needs some time but has all the right stuff and in proportion, one of the iconic wines of Rioja. Finish 50+ KILLER

 

2011 Artadi Vina El Pison Rioja Alvesa

It was a dry winter followed by plenty of rainfall throughout spring. The beginning of summer was cold, dry and marked by high temperatures from the middle of August till harvest time. In spite of these circumstances, the vintage produced fresh and fruity wines.

An extraordinary vineyard, an extraordinary wine. The pure expression of the symbiosis between soil, climate, vine and man. The overwhelming sweetness together with a hold energy message. This is a feast of sensations difficult to understand full of sensibility and mystery. Viña El Pisón is a wine to lay down and to enjoy time’s magic.

 

2009 Artadi Vina El Pison Rioja Alvesa
Price: $340.50    Sale $299.64

Artadi El Pison, this unassuming 1945 vineyard, with its rather modest pad-locked gate and purely functional hut at its centre, does not immediately announce itself as the most celebrated vineyard in Spain.

One taste, however, confirms this fact. Aromatically complex, civilized and life-affirming, the wine opens up on the palate with great confidence, precision and density. Dark fruit, spice and hints of pepper at this early stage, but very very fine supporting tannins and incredible length.

Juan Carlos Lopez compares it to 2007, but feels that it is a shade riper and may have an even longer life. We also see a resemblance to the superb 2004, which is now approaching a second phase of excellence.

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Menu
Selection of Cheese: Jamon De Serrano, Spanish Olives, Manchego and Camerano
Prime Rib with Tempranillo Natural Sauce
Torta Espanola

 

The fee for this event is $150 + tax.  For reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewaatch.com.

Image result for Artadi winery

Artadi are some of the most exciting of Rioja's new-wave wines.  Spain's best red wines have long been based on a single grape, Tempranillo, the principal grape of Rioja.  But for much time, Rioja’s wines were light, oaky and often oxidized. 

The Artadi Estate was created in 1985 by the dynamic visionary winemaker, Juan Carlos Lopez de la Calle who envisioned a wine far more ample, generous and concentrated than the Riojas being produced at this time. "The Riojas of the '80s were smooth, but their skeletons were angular," he says. "There was no flesh on them, no possibility of a caress. We wanted a viable alternative. Much about us is the same as the other Riojas -- we have the same terrain, the same Tempranillo. But the expression of the grape is different, as is our philosophy for the wine." Juan Carlos Lopez has proven that Tempranillo can make extraordinarily rich, deeply colored and powerful wines, full of complexity and finesse. His secret is old vines, low yields, high altitude sites and just the right amount of oak influence.

The seventy-five acre Artadi estate is located in Rioja Alavesa.  To the north, it is bordered by the mountains of the Sierra Cantabria and to the south by the River Ebro. The vineyards are composed of clay and limestone soils;  they benefit from moderate temperatures, seasonal rainfall and a cold north wind. 

At the top of the Artadi hierarchy are limited-production cuvees of El Pison and Grandes Anadas.  El Pison is 100% Tempranillo from the 45-year-old El Pison vineyard. The El Pison vineyard was planted in 1947 by Juan Carlos’ grandfather and is just 2.8 hectares in size. The vineyard’s small size and extremely low yields makes its production prized.  The wine is barrel-aged in French oak for 24 months.  El Pison is thought to be Burgundy-like in style while Grandes Anadas is thought to be more Bordeaux-like in style.   Grandes Anadas is 100% Tempranillo from Artadi's oldest vineyards (80-100 years). The wine is aged for 40 months in 100% new French oak. Grandes Anadas is only produced in exceptional vintages – it has only been made three times in the last 7 years, 1994, 1998 and 2001. 

They have changed the entire line-up at Artadi winery over the last year and today the range at Artadi now is three tiers; they have varietal wines, village wines and single vineyard wines, none of their wines will have the DOC of Rioja on them. 

Artadi is about purity of extracted fruit with almost Burgundian textures. In fact, critics have often compared these wines to the top wines of Chambolle-Musigny and other top appellations of Burgundy. The key to this level of elegance comes from the cold wines of the Pyrenees which blow from the north. This coupled with moderate temperatures tend to make these wines a study in elegance and power, the iron fist in a velvet glove if you will. They are some of the most extraordinary examples of Tempranillo in the world.

 

 

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