Artadi San Lázaro 2023

Artadi, led by Juan Carlos Lopez de Lacalle, makes single vineyard Tempranillo from old plots in the Rioja Alavesa, now bottled outside the D.O.Ca. Rioja after the estate left the appellation in 2015. The thinking is that great wine reflects a specific site rather than a classification, so San Lazaro is named for its parcel rather than a crianza or reserva category. The vineyards sit on the limestone and clay slopes of the Sierra de Cantabria, where altitude and a continental climate with cool nights preserve acidity and give Tempranillo its red fruit and fine tannin. Farming is organic. The wine spends 12 months in 225 litre French oak barrels, a measured time chosen to frame the fruit rather than dominate it, with the oak contributing structure, gentle oxygenation and a spiced sweetness. In the glass it is deep ruby, with a nose of red berries, cherry and delicate spice, including cinnamon, clove and a savoury hint of tobacco. The palate is balanced and refined, with ripe tannin, bright acidity and a vanilla and red fruit finish. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees, decanted ahead. It pairs naturally with roast lamb and aged Spanish cheese.