Artuke: Breathing New Life into Rioja's Viticultural Legacy
Rioja'n'Roll - as they call it – is a group of young Rioja producers committed to making distinctive wines that reflect their origins and terroir. Artuke, our artisan producer, is one of the members.
Artuke is a small organic winery located in Baños de Ebro, a village in Rioja Alavesa on the banks of the river. In 1991, Roberto de Miguel made the bold decision to transition the family's vineyards away from bulk wine production and towards bottled, terroir-driven wines. Now his children, Arturo and Kike, have taken the reins and are shaping this project with a deep-rooted connection to their local landscape.
Driven by an unwavering commitment to their winemaking heritage, the Artuke brothers have conducted meticulous studies of the soils across their vineyards in Baños de Ebro, Ábalos, San Vicente de la Sonsierra, and Samaniego. They seek to preserve the land and the distinct style of Rioja wines that the land has gifted them. They advocate for Riojas to be bottled according to regional, village, and single-vineyard lines, similar to the Burgundian approach, rather than the traditional Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva classifications that define quality based on time spent in barrel.
The deep understanding of their terroir has imbued the Artuke brothers with a singular mission: to preserve the style of Rioja wines that the land has gifted it. Despite being situated near the same villages, their 32 sites exhibit distinct climatic and soil variations. Rejecting the Rioja classification's barrel aging requirements, they often use neutral oak to allow each plot's unique characteristics to shine through.
One of the achievements the brothers made is the recovery of the long-abandoned La Condenada vineyard, with its sandy soils and sandstone substructure. Here, they have painstakingly replanted old vines of Tempranillo, Graciano, Garnacha, and the rare Cagazal (or Calagraño) variety, gradually reclaiming the adjacent tiny parcels to restore the vineyard.
Artuke now produces four single-vineyard wines: "La Condenada", "El Escolladero", "Paso Las Manas", and "Finca Los Locos". They also make village wines, including "Artuke", a traditional carbonic maceration style fermented with whole clusters, and "Pies Negros", made with Tempranillo grapes from Abalos and 10% Graciano.
SPECIAL OFFER:
ENJOY 15% OFF DISCOUNT ON ALL wines by artuke
Promotion period: until Jul 24, 2024
1/ Artuke 2020 - Bt | JR16
(15% Off) HK$120 ▷ HK$102
Bright, healthy crimson in this young wine. Pure fruit. Carbonic maceration? Straightforward, sweet and fresh expression of Tempranillo fruit (with a dab of Viura) that’s almost unrecognisable as a Rioja! Dry finish. Perfectly nicely made but not that distinctive. I think I’d seek out an old-vine Garnacha instead.
- 16, Jancis Robinson, Jancisrobinson.com, April 2022
2/ Artuke Pies Negros 2019 - Bt
(15% Off) HK$160 ▷ HK$136
A wine made from grapes from fifteen different plots in Abalos with 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano. Decanting recommended.
It is concentrated, with a fresh, fruity character and good structure. On the palate, it displays saturated dark fruit flavors complemented by tobacco and spicy pepper notes. The wine maintains a balance between concentration and freshness.
3/ Artuke Finca de Los Locos 2018 - Bt | RP93+
(15% Off) HK$190 ▷ HK$162
The 2018 Finca de Los Locos comes from a single vineyard in the village of Baños de Ebro, a terrace planted in 1981 at 120 meters above the river with sandy and gravel soils with a high content of limestone. The varietal breakdown came to 78% Tempranillo, 20% Graciano and 2% Viura that fermented destemmed but uncrushed with indigenous yeasts and matured for one year in 500- and 600-liter oak barrels and a 3,500-liter oak foudre. As with the other wines, it improved tremendously with one hour in the glass. This is a little riper and more immediate than others of the single vineyards, and I would group this with El Escolladero rather than the others. These two have a common profile (all four wines are fermented in the same way), more powerful and a little more fruit-driven because of the soils (gravel here) and more exposition to the sun and the higher percentage of clay at El Escolladero. The long and complete cycle made the grapes ripen thoroughly, and the wine feels quite round, with polished tannins and ripe flavors and with structure over the chalky backbone. 10,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2020.
-93+, Luis Gutiérrez, Issue 251 End of October 2020, The Wine Advocate, October 2020
4/ Artuke Paso Las Manas 2018 - Bt | RP95
(15% Off) HK$240 ▷ HK$204
The second vintage of a vineyard at 700 meters in altitude in the village of Samaniego is the 2018 Paso Las Mañas, pure Tempranillo planted in 1990 and 2013. It fermented destemmed and with indigenous yeasts and matured in two 3,500-liter oak foudres for 12 months. This was a little closed at first and showed shy and subtle. It has an elegant and aromatic profile, in this case, possibly from the higher altitude of the vineyard. This is elegant and a little lighter than Finca de los Locos, but it still has firm tannins and a serious backbone. This feels fresher than the 2017, more delicate, more Burgundian, whereas the 2017 was more Rhône-ish. This is really very good, and it's remarkable for a young vineyard that already delivers low yields. I think that is sign of a very good place. So, when these vines get older, the wine should get even better. 6,000 bottles were filled in January 2020.
-95, Luis Gutiérrez, Issue 251 End of October 2020, The Wine Advocate, October 2020
5/ Artuke Paso Las Manas 2019 - Bt
(15% Off) HK$265 ▷ HK$225
“Las Manas” is a festival held on the 7 December in Spain. The main celebration of the festival is the burning of bunches of lavender to drive out the bad spirits from the village of Samaniego. This is a 100% Tempranillo wine, with 300 cases only produced per year.
It presents aromas of blackberry, raspberry, and leather. On the palate, it exhibits a pronounced acidity, giving it a rather dry character. Despite this, the wine is rich in flavor and has good aging potential.
6/ Artuke El Escolladero 2019 - Bt
(15% Off) HK$520 ▷ HK$442
This is a single-vineyard bottling from a plot in the village of Ábalos. It's a blend of 85% Tempranillo and 15% Graciano from vines planted in 1950 on classical clay and limestone soils at 600 meters in altitude. The uncrushed grapes fermented in concrete vats with indigenous yeasts, and the wine had an élevage of one year in 600-liter oak barrels. Around 1000 bottles produced each year.
It is an elegant, complex red wine with bright cherry color, delicate aromas of dark berries, herbs, and spice, a dense and full-bodied palate with ripe fruit, tangy acidity, and a long, fruit-forward finish.
7/ Artuke La Condenada 2019 - Bt
(15% Off) HK$750 ▷ HK$638
From vines of more than 100 years old. This wine takes its name from the abandoned state of the plot which is called “Camino del Ciego” in Baños de Ebro. The vineyard, at 530 meters in altitude on sandy and sandstone soils, had been abandoned to die three years before. Artuke rescued it from its death sentence, and after two years of care the grapes were of the right quality to make “La Condenada”. The 80% Tempranillo and 20% other varieties (Graciano, Garnacha and the white Palomino Fino) of uncrushed grapes are fermented with indigenous yeasts, and the wine matured in 600-liter oak barrels for 12 months.
This wine brims with ripe red and black fruit aromas, accented by delicate floral notes and a mineral, spicy backdrop. It presents a well-structured palate with lively acidity and a long, fresh finish - a reflection of the stone and sandy soils.
Promotion period: until Jul 24, 2024
In stock now, and offered subject to final confirmation and remaining unsold. E. & O. E.
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