Artuke Rioja Pies Negros 2023

Artuke is a small family run winery in Rioja Alavesa on the banks of the Ebro river. Today the winery is run by brothers Arturo and Kike Miguel. The winery’s name “Artuke” is a blended version of the brothers’ names. Arturo Miguel is the winemaker and he has become an important and influential force in Rioja, the country’s most historically famous region. Not only for the world class wines he makes but for rejecting the confines of Rioja’s classification system. When we think of Rioja, we think of Crianza; Reserva and Gran Reserva classifications. Most growers in rioja sell their grapes to the big houses. Arturo decided to break these norms and rather focus on the best possible quality he could make. Very much like the Super Tuscans of Italy, these wines could be considered Super Riojas. Its all about the making the best possible wine, period! Their focus is to capture the purest, most vivid expressions possible of the extraordinary terroirs they work, clustered around the towns of Baños de Ebro, Ábalos, San Vicente de Sonsierra and Samaniego, all north of the Ebro River. All wines come from calcareous sandstone (similar in structure and mineral makeup to sandstones from Barolo and Barbaresco). I am a huge of their wines and today Artuke Pies Negros 2023 is quite simply exceptional at our rock bottom price of $23.99. The name “Pies Negros” (Spanish for “black feet”) honors the traditional method of foot-treading the grapes. It is made from 50 year old bush vines planted in clay with calcareous topsoil in the Rioja Alavesa subzones between 500-600 meters meters of altitude. Absolutely exceptional red wine under twenty-five, Superb red berry, dried fig and dark chocolate complimented by cedar and vanilla. Perfect for the cooler weather ahead or in the cellar through 2037. Taste the Hillside difference.