The 2010 El Carretil is produced with Tempranillo grapes from a single 5.3-hectare, southeast-facing vineyard planted in 1973 in Laguardia at 500 meters altitude. The grapes fermented in open wooden vats and carried out the malolactic fermentation in oak barrels, where it aged for 14 months. This vineyard was, in the 2001 vintage, the source for Grandes Anadas. The southeast orientation makes the influence of the sun not as strong as in La Poza, nor as light as in Valdegines. I found the 2010 very ripe, with notes of damsons, black cherries and black spices, while the palate showed more delineation and freshness, coming back with a mixture of red and black fruit flavors. This is also a big, powerful but balanced wine, with fine-grained tannins, and a chalky sensation, which provide some austerity. It is a beautiful wine.
94 points, Luis Gutierrez (December 2013)
(all tempranillo): Inky ruby. Explosive blackberry, cherry liqueur and incense scents show excellent purity and a suave, lively mineral topnote. Broad, deep and velvety, offering palate-staining dark berry and bitter cherry flavors complemented by suggestions of licorice, cola and spicecake. There's lots going on here already but this still is a baby. Finishes with building intensity and superb length, leaving notes of boysenberry and smoky minerals behind. I'd love to see how this wine ages.
94 points, Josh Raynolds (September 2014)
Rioja
The largest and most famous region in Spain covers an area of over 63,000 ha. Sheltered by three mountain ranges, Rioja is fairly dry with an average annual rainfall of just 530 mm. The climate of the region varies from cooler wetter, elevated areas of the northern Rioja Alavesa, to the warm and dry areas of the Rioja Alta to the hot continental Rioja Baja on its south-eastern side. Rioja is famous for its red wine styles which are usually a Tempranillo dominant blend with portions of Garnacha (Grenache) and Cariñena. Rioja has a hierarchy of quality based on the maturation and ageing of its wines. Joven styles are generally fruit-forward unoaked styles made to drink young, while oak maturation is used for Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva styles. Traditionally American oak is used in the region, although the use of French oak barriques is on the rise. The finest Tempranillo grapes are grown on the chalky soils of the Alavesa sub-region offering elegance, perfume and acidity for the Reserva and Gran Reserva styles while the Rioja Alta and Baja produces the majority of fruit that provide the body and spicy ripe fruit characters. Attractive white Rioja wines made from Viura, Garnacha Blanca and Chardonnay, are also produced in both modern unoaked and more traditional oaked styles.Artadi
Artadi is a modern Spanish producer with vineyards in Rioja, Navarra and Alicante. Founded in 1985, the original winery was once a co-operative of 13 growers who owned precious vineyard parcels around the town of Laguardia in Rioja’s Alavesa. Visionary winemaker and businessman Juan Carlos Lopez de Lacalle realised the potential of these vineyards and purchased the Bodega, setting out to produce contemporary world-class wines. The vineyards are planted predominantly to Tempranillo and are now farmed along organic and biodynamic lines, with an emphasis on individual vineyard and terroir expression. Artadi’s philosophy of meticulous attention to detail from the vineyard to the winery is seen in the purity and expression of the wines. Contrary to local tradition, only French oak is used for maturation. In the 1990’s, Artadi expanded into Navarra and Alicante producing superb examples of Garnacha and Monastrell.
