Artuke - 2022 Paso Las Mañas, Tinto

An influential leader in the movement of young Rioja winegrowers, Arturo Miguel focuses on producing single-parcel wines. The second generation of his family to grow and bottle their own wines since the end of the Spanish dictatorship, Arturo converted to organic farming as soon as he took control in the 2000s. Calcareous sandstone is the principal formation in the area with varying degrees of sand, clay and alluvium—similar in soil structure to southern Piedmont’s most celebrated wine regions, Barolo and Barbaresco. Cellar techniques are straightforward with the use of principally older French oak barrels (with some American) of different sizes that highlight the differences of the five specific terroir wines (Pies Negros, Finca de los Locos, Paso las Mañas, El Escolladero, and La Condenada) all dominated by Tempranillo with some additions of Graciano. The exception in the range in general style is the ARTUKE entry-level wine, which is made with carbonic maceration (typical for the region) and aged in concrete.