Wine Advisor
Artadi, Vina El Pison 2022
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Luis Gutiérrez
The unbottled sample of the 2022 Viña El Pisón feels expressive, aromatic and open. It was in 500-liter barrels until it finished malolactic and then spent five months in an oak foudre to finish the élevage. It has more red fruit and flowers, and it's gentler, more approachable than the 2021. There is finesse and elegance here.
Reviewed by: Luis Gutiérrez
The bottle of the 2022 Viña El Pisón I tasted also delivers even more than the unbottled sample I tasted last year. It's elegant, perfumed and floral, like a more powerful version of San Lázaro. It has a medium to full-bodied palate with very fine and chalky tannins, the elegance of Laguardia and the finesse of this specific plot. 2022 was the first year that they increased yields, and the wine is quite expressive, open and balanced. It has 14.64% alcohol, a pH of 3.62 and 4.78 grams of acidity. There are 6,000 bottles of this. It was bottled in June 2024.
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.
