To produce the Rioja “El Carretil” Artadi, after the rigorous manual harvesting, the fermentation is carried out in open wooden vats and the wine is then aged for 12 months in new French oak barriques, where the malolactic fermentation also takes place. El Carretil gives wines of extraordinary aromatic complexity, vigorous, tannic and capable of evolving in the bottle like few others.
“El Carretil” is produced with tempranillo from the cru of the same name, the best available from the Artadi winery. It is a vineyard located at 500 meters in the locality of Laguardia, where the vines are rooted in the clayey limestone soil rich in layers of rock, where the yield per hectare has remained at very low levels.
Artadi was once a co-operative of 13 local growers based close to the town of Laguardia in the Alavesa sub-region of Rioja. Recognising the potential of these vineyards, Juan Carlos López de Lacalle purchased the estate and modernised the winemaking facilities and techniques to allow the unique terroir of the vineyards to shine through. Over the years the estate has become one of Rioja’s finest, so Artadi’s decision to leave the appellation in 2015 sent shockwaves through the region. Although controversial at the time, this bold decision has proven a blessing for Artadi by enabling the estate to highlight their remarkable single vineyard wines free from the rigid regulations of the appellation’s governing body. This focus on the character of individual plots echoes the Burgundian approach and is just one example of Artadi’s commitment to producing exceptional quality wines. In contrast with many more traditional producers in Rioja, Artadi insists on using French rather than American oak to age its wines. This gives a more delicate touch from the oak and allows the character of the Tempranillo grape and the terroir to take centre stage.
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