Winemaker Notes
Grown in the nutrient-poor, calcareous clay sub-soils that surround the ancient walled village of Laguardia, the 12.3-acre Valdegine´s vineyard is located at an altitude of 1,728 feet above sea-level. A densely-spaced, east-facing vineyard, Valdegine´s, planted in 1989, consists of two micro-terroirs where vines lie either in the shallow soil of soft sandstone slopes or along the ancient rock terraces on cooler, deeper soils. A blend of both hillside and terrace fruit, Valdegine´s is consistently both incredibly complex and pleasing on the palate. As all of the Artadi vineyards are dry-farmed and maintained naturally, chemical fertilizers and pesticides are never used in this inimitable single vineyard.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A nice lift of black pepper to the red cherries, hibiscus, mineral and oyster shells. Scented, with more width than depth on the nose. Chalky rounding of tannins dissipate in a concentrated, medium- to full-bodied palate. Long, mineral finish to close. Drink from 2025.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The bottled 2021 Valdeginés showed much better than the unbottled sample I tasted last time. The wine is a little austere, very integrated and harmonious, with fine tannins. It feels very young and undeveloped but with high potential, with all the elements and balance to age nicely in bottle. The 2021s are going to need time in bottle. Carlos López de Lacalle says Valdeginés is a serious wine but with a jovial palate, with energy and charm. 15,000 bottles were produced, which is the largest production of the single-vineyard wines.
Rating: 94+
Hailed as the star red variety in Spain’s most celebrated wine region, Tempranillo from Rioja, or simply labeled, “Rioja,” produces elegant wines with complex notes of red and black fruit, crushed rock, leather, toast and tobacco, whose best examples are fully capable of decades of improvement in the cellar.
Rioja wines are typically a blend of fruit from its three sub-regions: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental, although specific sub-region (zonas), village (municipios) and vineyard (viñedo singular) wines can now be labeled. Rioja Alta and Alavesa, at the highest elevations, are considered to be the source of the brightest, most elegant fruit, while grapes from the warmer and drier, Rioja Oriental, produce wines with deep color, great body and richness.