2014 Bodegas y Vinedos Artuke Rioja Finca de los locos
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Tasting notes
80% Tempranillo, 20% Graciano. Single vineyard planted in 1981 in Baños de Ebro within Rioja Alavesa at 520 m elevation. 2.8 ha and slightly sloped. Hand-harvested, sorting table and totally destemmed. 12-16 months ageing in French oak. Not stabilised. 10,000 bottles produced. Very ripe and modern showing plentiful aromas and great depth, dark ripe plums, ripe cherries, cranberry jam, toasted oak, green leaves and a touch of spice. Very consistent and balanced on the palate, with generous sweet fruit and fleshy ripe tannins. Superb texture and rich fruit. The wine is more physical than elegant but is really terrific. Where does this surprising savoury fruit come from? Unusual richness for a rioja. (FC)
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Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The 2014 Finca de Los Locos comes from a single 2.8-hectare vineyard in the village of Baños de Ebro, where the winery is located. The vineyard, which was purchased by the grandfather of the current generation, is a terraced vineyard overlooking the Ebro River on a gravel soils. It's Tempranillo with some 20% Graciano with a clear herbal twist with a chalky, somehow minty character that made me think of a cooler climate red; it somehow transported me to Chinon, but with the faint balsamic aromas of some Mediterranean herbs. The palate shows really chalky tannins, very mineral, somehow austere, with character and an elegant rusticity. There is some 22-24% active limestone in the soil of the vineyard, and that clearly shows in the wine. This is a superb improvement, where the wine shows the character of the place. It should age nicely. Some 8,500 bottles produced.