Buying options
Tasting notes
The purity of fruit to this is really something else. I am not sure I have tasted a young Spanish wine with such purity. The crushed-blackberry, violet and sandalwood aromas with dried black tea are so enticing. They really catch your mind. The fruit and tannin texture to this is impeccable, as it just folds together on the palate and delivers a perfect balance of fruit and texture. Dances on your palate. You have to drink it now. But it will age forever.
Critic scores
Average Score
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
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.
About the producer
Owner and winemaker Juan Carlos López de Lacalle is among an elite group of global vintners whose expertise creates wines that stand above others in their regions. Artadi produces refined Rioja in unoaked and oaked styles, including superb Reservas and single-vineyard wines such as Viña El Pisón.