2019 Santa Cruz de Artazu
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Tasting notes
The red 2019 Santa Cruz de Artazu was produced with Garnacha grapes from old vineyards on the slopes of the village of Artazu from a low-yielding vintage marked by some hailstorms. It fermented in open-top vats for 10 to 12 days after a 48-hour cold soak and matured in 500-liter French oak barrels for nine months, including malolactic. It's 14.65% alcohol and has good acidity and freshness coming through as soft and tender. Garnacha takes heat quite well in Navarra. They harvest in October, and the wine shows riper fruit; there's more complexity and structure than the wine from San Martín, which tends to be the case from the low yields of the very old vines. It's juicy and creamy, round with sweet, silky tannins. 4,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2021.
Critic scores
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
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.