2016 - Artadi Valdegines, Rioja

The 2016 Valdeginés comes from an organically farmed vineyard planted 35 to 40 years ago at 600 meters in altitude in the village of Laguardia. From an east-facing plot of five hectares opposite La Poza de Ballesteros, the vines are younger here (from the early 1980s), and they get the morning sun. In a cooler year, like this 2016, the grapes ripened quite slowly. The Valdeginés fermented with indigenous yeasts in open-top wooden vats after a 24- to 48-hour cold soak and then matured in barrel until malolactic was completed, yet there is no trace of oak (the élevage was shortened to nine months in barrel), instead it's floral and vibrant in the palate. This is always the first single-vineyard wine offered for tasting, and it tends to be their prettiest wine; in 2016 it was really captivating, very clean, fresh and open from the first minute after being poured in the glass. 2016 seems to be a very transparent vintage, and this is a great example of it. Superb! 13,000 bottles produced.

Single, east-facing vineyard. Very dark crimson. Rich, almost sweet and liqueur-like. More introvert than the Gain blend, and needs more time. Very savoury tincture. Almost painfully concentrated at this point. Very 20th century! (JR)