El Carretil 2020

A dry Tempranillo built on tension rather than opulence: blackberry and dark cherry sit alongside black pepper and dried herbs, with the oak remaining a quiet support in the background. Powerful without ever becoming heavy.

The El Carretil plot lies in Rioja Alavesa, where the Sierra Cantabria shelters the vineyards and nights stay cool. Artadi farms 56 hectares here on chalky, clay-rich soils. In late 2015 the estate left the DOCa Rioja, as its regulations forbade even naming a single vineyard on the label. Winemaking still takes place in Laguardia, in the cellar where Juan Carlos López de Lacalle started out in 1985.

Pure Tempranillo from old vines, farmed organically, without herbicides or synthetic chemicals. Fermentation takes place in open vats to keep extraction gentle; ageing is in French barriques. No reverse osmosis, no micro-oxygenation, no overripeness.

Dense, fine-grained tannin, lively acidity, a long finish that reveals the terroir more than the cellar work. The estate's wines age over decades without closing down in their youth: decant now or leave to rest for a few years.

With grilled rack of lamb with rosemary, braised ox cheeks in red wine jus and aged Manchego, as well as robustly seasoned mushroom dishes.

El Carretil is one of nine single vineyards that Juan Carlos López de Lacalle vinifies separately together with his children Carlos and Patricia. Each wine carries the name of its plot rather than an aging classification.