Artadi La Poza de Ballesteros

Artadi La Poza de Ballesteros is a red wine made by the Bodegas y Viñedos Artadi winery in Laguardia, Rioja Alavesa.

Bodegas y Viñedos Artadi’s origins date back to 1985, when a group of winegrowers decided to get together and start making their wines as a cooperative.

In 1992 the Lacalle took over the running of this cooperative with the aim of producing unique wines, wines that reflect their origin. They put all their effort into cultivating the vineyard, thereby giving greater prominence to smallholding wines. This led to them leaving the D.O.Ca. Rioja in 2015, without abandoning wine production in this region.

Bodegas y Viñedos Artadi currently has over 80 hectares of vineyards in La Rioja, with different characteristics, especially in terms of the composition of the soils. It is also part of the winemaking group that also consists of the wineries Bodegas y Viñedos Artazu (Navarre) and Bodegas y Viñedos El Sequé (Alicante).

Artadi La Poza de Ballesteros is a red wine made with Tempranillo grapes from a 3.6 hectare vineyard planted in 1960 in the town of Elvillar. It is located at an altitude of 600 meters on soils with a lime-clayey structure.

The grapes are harvested by hand and placed in 15 kg boxes, with the selection being performed in the vineyard itself. Once in the cellar they undergo a cold maceration for 24-48 hours before ferment with native yeasts in open wooden vats for 10-12 days with daily treading and a small pump-over. The malolactic fermentation takes place in new French oak barrels where the wine remains for 12 months.