Artadi San Lázaro

Just because you spend ten years studying for a degree doesn’t necessarily mean you will know more. In the same way, just because a wine spends more time in the barrel does not necessarily mean it will be higher quality. According to Juan Carlos López de Lacalle, top representative of the Artadi Rioja winery, time does not always mean quality. This winegrower with a rebellious soul left the D.O.Ca. Rioja in 2015. He pushes back against the traditional classification of Rioja wines as young, crianza, reserva and gran reserva, instead advocating for a new classification system for wines and vineyards based on quality, which is similar to what they do in Bordeaux. In the meantime, he spends his life producing single-plot wines that reflect the specific place they come from as closely as possible.

Artadi San Lázaro is an example of this great effort. This wine comes from a 1.62 hectare plot located in Laguardia (Basque Country) where the old Tempranillo vines are planted in sandy-clay and limestone soils. The vines are cultivated using ecological agriculture and the harvest is carried out manually when the grapes reach optimum ripeness, with the grapes selected in the vineyard itself. In the winery, a traditional vinification process is followed to maintain the freshness and aroma of the raw material. This work culminates with the wine aging for 12 months in 225-litre French oak barrels.

This is how Artadi San Lázaro is born, with the influence of a unique terroir and the expertise of a masterful winery. A limited production single-plot wine that reveals all its power in the most delicate way.