Critic Scores
The 2009 Vina El Pison is born from 67-year-old vines within a real clos rather than the fictitious ones that abound. I could be pedantic and separate it from Juan Carlos- wines under the Artadi umbrella, but like my predecessor, I will include it here. The 2009 has a fresh, floral, Margaux-like bouquet with fine delineation and intensity. The palate is full-bodied with an almost impenetrable carapace of licorice-tinged black fruits, minerals, citrus peel and a powerful, sensual finish. Perhaps impressive more than pleasurable (at the moment), this behemoth will need a decade in the cellar before it will shine. Drink 2022-2040. Artadi was one of several imperative visits during my visit to Rioja, where I met respected winemaker Juan Carlos Lopez de Lacalle. His wines need little introduction, having already garnered glowing reviews in this publication and elsewhere. But what I was interested in discovering was whether Rioja can really exploit the minutiae of its multifarious terroirs and offer genuine nuances in a similar fashion to Burgundy or the Mosel (to give but two examples of regions where place is everything). If there is one man who lives by that philosophy, it is Juan Carlos, who oversees a coveted range of modern style Rioja that receive a generous amount of new French oak. Let us commence with the entry-level Vinas de Gain red and white. The Viura is harvested separately from Juan Carlos's intermixed vineyard and is fermented in 500-liter French oak barrels and kept in stainless steel tanks on the lees with three of four lees-stirring. NM-08/2012
