Wine Advisor
Artadi, Vina El Pison 2000
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
El Pison is a 100% Tempranillo cuvee produced from a single vineyard planted in 1945. The soil is pure limestone, yields are a lowly 18-22 hectoliters per hectare, and the wine is aged for 18-24 months in French oak. The rich, profound 2000 El Pison boasts a dense ruby/purple color as well as full body, tremendous precision, and layers of sweet strawberry, cherry, raspberry, and black currant fruit intermixed with mineral, subtle wood, and flower notes. Drink it now and over the next 15 years. Importer: Eric Solomon, European Selections, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565
About the Producer
Artadi is a well-regarded, high-profile wine producer based in the Rioja Alavesa town of Laguardia although famously having left the local Rioja wine body, it produces wines under the Vino de Mesa title. It makes a range of Rioja-style wines albeit with a subregional focus and is perhaps best-known for its single vineyard labels, all made from Tempranillo. The single vineyard labels include El Carretil, La Poza de Ballesteros, Quintanilla, San Lazaro and Valdeginés, as well as the flagship El Pison. The 2004 vintage of El Pison wine received 100 points from American wine critic Robert Parker. Other notable wines include the Pagos Viejos cuvée, the value-level Viñas de Gain and the entry-level Artadi Joven, produced from carbonically macerated Tempranillo and Viura. Artadi also makes a white Viñas de Gain from 100 percent Viura aged in oak as well as a sparkling Cava, also from local Viura. López de Lacalle's wines are fruit-driven and characterized by smooth tannins, showing an emphasis on individual vineyard sites more than aging styles. He also owns the El Sequé estate in Alicante, which makes wine from the Monastrell variety, and Artazu in Navarra, which focuses on the Garnacha grape.
