Artadi | Rioja | La Poza de Ballesteros | 2021 | 750ml | bio

Description

Product description for Artadi La Poza de Ballesteros 2021 (bio)

Among the many wineries that have become known far beyond Rioja since the 1980s, Bodegas y Viñedos Artadi occupy a special position. Artadi is among the region’s top wineries, producing wines that have come from purely organic vineyards, now also biodynamically cultivated, since the 1980s. In 1985, several families joined together to form a cooperative, but they disagreed, so two of the families, Lacalle and Laorden, took over the winery. The re-establishment in 1992 marked the beginning of Artadi’s consistent rise. This also included leaving the Rioja Winegrowers’ Association, which is why the term “Rioja” is no longer found on wine labels. Artadi is one of the region’s best wineries, cultivating a more modern style. This is also due to the fact that it owns some of the best sites in Rioja, with vineyards like El Pisón and others.

Wine Information

Like few other Spanish bodegas, Artadi represents the transition from cellar-influenced to terroir-influenced wines. Since the 1990s, the winery in the Basque region of Rioja has focused on expressing the character of specific sites in its wines. The organically certified red wine “La Poza de Ballesteros” comes from a 1.2-hectare, west-facing vineyard at an altitude of around 600 meters in the municipality of Elvillar. We are located in the higher and cooler part of the Alavesa, at the foot of the Sierra Cantabria. The 63-year-old Tempranillo vines grow on loamy-sandy and calcareous soil. As with all Artadi wines, the grapes are destemmed and fermented spontaneously. The wine is aged in oak barrels of various sizes and ages.

Colour

Purple red

Nose

Cool, dark fruit of black cherry and blackberry, as well as earthy minerality, characterize the bouquet. The nose possesses complex aromatics and high intensity. It is stimulatingly fresh, stimulating, and excellently balanced.

Palate

The 2021 La Poza has noble, mouth-filling tannins and is minerally and powerful on the palate. Compared to other single-vineyard wines from Artadi, such as Valdegines and San Lazaro, this red wine is fuller-bodied and denser in structure. Yet despite its fuller body, it is enormously exciting and endowed with a juicy pull. The interplay of round body, lively acidity, velvety texture, and dark fruit is impressive and almost perfectly balanced. The wine is profound and complex. The icing on the cake is the long finish, with the fine-grained tannins lingering elegantly and fluffily in the mouth.

Copyright Vinaturel 2025

Keywords: Artadi La Poza de Ballesteros 2021 bio Rioja Spain

Wine Advocate

Score: 94

There is a note of fennel in the 2021 La Poza de Ballesteros, a wine that is more open, approachable and round, with a gentler palate. It feels comfortable and velvety. This is the opposite slope to Valdeginés, a soil with more sand. 4,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2023.
Luis Gutiérrez

Vinous

Score: 94

The 2021 La Poza de Ballesteros is 100% Tempranillo sourced from a vineyard planted in 1960 in Elvillar de Álava, Rioja Alavesa. This garnet-purplish red wine reveals subtle aromas of wild herbs with hints of cherry and pennyroyal. On the palate, it is dry, velvety and comfortable, with ripe and plush tannins that lead to a long-lasting fruit finish. This Rioja exemplifies a terroir-driven approach, showcasing the fruit tones and nuances unique to the Elvillar region.
— Joaquín Hidalgo
Drinking window: 2024 – 2040
Review date: Apr 2024

Producer website: https://artadi.com/en/artazu-navarra