El Carretil 2018

The El Carretil 2018 is named after its plot, not an aging classification. At 14.5% ABV it stands powerful, yet remains dry and clearly defined: concentration without heaviness, depth without excess.

El Carretil is one of nine single vineyards farmed by Juan Carlos López de Lacalle together with his children Carlos and Patricia. The 56 hectares in Rioja Alavesa lie sheltered by the Sierra Cantabria, on limestone soils rich in clay. At the end of 2015, Artadi left the DOCa Rioja, whose regulations did not even permit naming a vineyard on the back label. Vinification still takes place in Laguardia, in the same cellar used for forty years.

Tempranillo from old vines, farmed organically, without herbicides or synthetic chemicals, the soils partly worked with horses, the grapes hand-harvested. In the cellar, Artadi uses open fermentation vessels for gentle extraction, followed by ageing in French oak that lends structure without masking the wine. No reverse osmosis, no micro-oxygenation. The 2018 vintage brought balanced ripening conditions to Rioja Alavesa.

Deep ruby red with violet highlights. On the nose, blackberry and plum, alongside lavender, spice and an earthy hint of graphite. On the palate, full-bodied and concentrated, with velvety ripe tannins and vibrant acidity that carries the weight. The finish remains long and spicy, with cherry and leather.

With grilled lamb with herbs and slow-roasted lamb, cordero asado, as well as with grilled Ibérico pork and aged Manchego. For something more rustic, try mushroom risotto or braised beef cheeks.

Certified organic farming, ES-ECO-026-VAS. This wine embodies Artadi's principle of thinking about hierarchy from the soil up, not from barrel age.