Artadi Vinas de Gain 1996

The Artadi estate was created in 1985 by the dynamic visionary winemaker, Juan Carlos Lopez de la Calle. His objective was to seek and nurture the concept that Tempranillo, when cultivated at high altitude, low-cropped, and from old vines, produces extraordinarily rich and profound wines. This, coupled with specific barrel treatments (with minor American oak influences) produces some of Rioja’s best wines.

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.