We first visited brothers Arturo and Kike (Artuke) de Miguel five years ago in Banos de Ebro, Rioja Alavesa. Back then, Artuke was already being talked about in Spanish circles as one of the most exciting “new” projects in the region and a great addition to the country’s burgeoning “new wave” scene. Not long after that, they became a founder member of the “Futuro Vinador” group, who describe themselves thus: “We are a collective of vinegrowers, who work together to improve our viticulture, our cultural practices. We want to inspire others to follow an honest viticulture path, rooted in their landscape and the people themselves.” The list of members comprises some of the country’s most exciting, young producers including Guimaro, Telmo Rodriguez, Lupier, Aguila and Suertes del Marques.
A shining example of the “new” Old World, this small family estate produces fresh, enticing Riojas rooted in their origins, shooting for wines marked not by any ageing process or maturity but by vitality and minerality; shapes and textures hewn from the bedrock itself, with droplets of berried fruits and herbs that reflect the vines’ natural environment. In direct opposition to the brothers’ impressive physical stature is the delicate approach they take in the cellar. The wines are gently extracted and follow a largely static and lightly reductive maturation process, using a combination of concrete, fuder and used 500L barrels over 12 to 18 months depending on the wine, all in the pursuit of ageworthy, transparent regional, village and single vineyard wines.
Read MoreThe Range
The entry-level Artuke is a regional blended “Joven” wine, made via carbonic maceration and aged in concrete for five months. Pies Negros is a village wine produced from 20-80 year old vines from generally higher vineyards around 600m which spends 12-13 months in oak.
Paso Las Manas is a younger plot, steep and exposed to the winds, planted on clay and mountain rock at 720m. Finca Los Locos is another single site planted in 1981 on chalky-gravel soils. The two vineyards represent their “Premier Crus”. Trascuevas is the first white to be made by Artuke and comes from three plots all between 70 and 80 years old. It is raised half in concrete and half in used 500L French oak barrels, with an emphasis on acidity and texture. It is well worth trying.
The two “Grand Crus” in the portfolio are El Escolladero: planted in 1950 on pure limestone, and La Condenada: planted in 1920 on iron-rich sandstone. Fermentations are all spontaneous and sulphur additions are kept to a minimum.
The Vintage
2020 was an overall warm vintage typical of the Rioja region with intermittent rains through the summer which created a lot of mildew pressure. Given their fully organic viticultural methods, yields were reduced by around 30% and they were forced in to a slightly earlier picking cycle to retain a balance between sugar and acidity. Arturo describes the wines as being “fruity and fresh with a good level of supporting acidity and very expressive aromas.” 2020 is the first vintage we have tasted where the wines seem to have found their feet relatively quickly, where the 2018s and 2019s still need time to show at their best. This, Arturo explained, is a conscious change, as he feels he has learnt to better steward the wines in the cellar.
Luis Gutierrez of The Wine Advocate describes Artuke as having “seen one of the best progressions in Rioja in the last few years and is one of the finest young family wineries in the region.” Tim Atkin MW has gone one step further and proclaimed La Condenada 2020 his first ever 100-point Rioja red, adding that “Arturo de Miguel makes some of the greatest reds in Spain”.
The future looks bright here, and if the 2021s we tasted from cask are anything to go by then it won’t be long before this range develops a strong following. We advise getting in now while you can.
The Offer
Owing to the tiny quantities available El Escolladero and La Condenada are offered by invitation only.
For full tasting notes click into each product below.