2016 - Artadi Vina Pison, Rioja

The flagship 2016 Viña El Pisón, from a vineyard planted in 1946 in Laguardia at 480 meters in altitude, showed an ethereal vintage with a vibrant palate and was extremely open, expressive, clean and approachable, with a lot less oak than when I tasted it from tank in early 2018 after only eight months in barrel. The wine has now been bottled and it's as good as expected, reaching the upper limit of my estimation from last year. It has energy and power, with chalky minerality, austere and with finesse, less exuberant than years like 2015 or 2014. This is a wine that always benefits from more time in bottle. This has to be one of the finest vintages of El Pisón in recent times. It reminds me of the 2010, with a rare combination of elegance and power. 6,000 bottles produced.

Since the 1990s, Artadi successfully implemented the concept of single-parcel wine with El Pisón, a small Tempranillo plot planted in Laguardia. The 2016 El Pisón presents delicate aromas of crushed cherries, herbs and bay leaf. On the palate, it is dry and rich with a substantial mouthfeel. The overwhelming and juicy palate features a fairly chalky texture, supported by fine-grained, reactive tannins. Crafted from a cold and unusual vintage in Rioja, the 2016 embodies a long-lasting, nuanced, primary red expression, reflective of its early stages of evolution.