2014 Artadi El Carretil
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Tasting notes
Shortening the time in oak for the 2014 El Carretil certainly paid back. The oak feels more integrated, as this used to be the oakiest wine in the portfolio. This is a vineyard between Laguardia and La Puebla de Labarca at 500 meters in altitude, a south-facing amphitheater with 17% active limestone, a lot higher than the average in the zone. It generates fresh, stony wines with chalky tannins. This is linear, serious and concentrated, with tannins that cling to your teeth. This should be phenomenal with some more time in bottle. It always has more acidity, a lower pH. Long and deep. In a hierarchy, I'd place the limestone-rich El Carretil second after El Pisón. This could be an elegant version of the 2009, with a lot more freshness but the same structure. Will this change with the new wines from 2016? 5,300 bottles produced.
Critic scores
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Shortening the time in oak for the 2014 El Carretil certainly paid back. The oak feels more integrated, as this used to be the oakiest wine in the portfolio. This is a vineyard between Laguardia and La Puebla de Labarca at 500 meters in altitude, a south-facing amphitheater with 17% active limestone, a lot higher than the average in the zone. It generates fresh, stony wines with chalky tannins. This is linear, serious and concentrated, with tannins that cling to your teeth. This should be phenomenal with some more time in bottle. It always has more acidity, a lower pH. Long and deep. In a hierarchy, I'd place the limestone-rich El Carretil second after El Pison. This could be an elegant version of the 2009, with a lot more freshness but the same structure. Will this change with the new wines from 2016? 5,300 bottles produced. Feb 2018, www.robertparker.com
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.