A firm favourite from the Palacios stable, Finca Dofi has had a particularly successful outing in 2014. Generous from the outset, yet in no way lacking staying power, the blend of Garnacha ( 94%) and Samso ( 6%) reflects Alvaro’s great love of old Garnacha, in particular its floral aromatics, its intimations of concentration and power and the evocations of the distinctive schistous ( known locally as ‘licorella’) soils in the weave of its texture. A thoroughbred.

La Poza de Ballesteros, the second of the three single vineyard sites faces Valdeginés in the San Ginés Valley, its west exposition engendering a wine with a different character, firmer, denser and with more stentorian tannins.

Biurco is a vineyard that we have enjoyed visiting over the years; it has a tranquillity and beauty and, predominately west-facing, is particularly attractive in the evening. The soil is homogenised clay and limestone, and the wine is marked by the charm of its aromas; violets, truffles and dark chocolate to name but three. If its stablemate Valdeparasio is linear, this wine is more fleshy and noted for both the sweetness of fruit on the palate and the power on the finish with layers of sumptuous ripe red cherry, fresh strawberry and vanilla new oak. Drink 2018-2029

2 % of the famously saturnine Alicante Bouschet adds colour and a whisper of rusticity to this superb Lamas, child of steep schistous soils outside the eponymous village. The environment is magical, gentle yet rugged, often cooler at night, possibly to the relief of the walkers on the Camino as they get closer and closer to Santiago. The wine captures its environment beautifully, with silky yet firm tannins and a generous core of ripe Iberian fruit.
Simon Field MW, Spanish buyer

The smallest and highest of Artadi's single vineyards, Montes El Carretil is marked by deep penetrating roots and a distinctive clay-sandstone soils. This Rioja wine is rich, energetic and dense, with very marked tannins at the moment and a fine mineraldriven finish. Notes of scorched earth, spice and black olive. A wine described by Juan Carlos Lopez, with no shortage of resonance, as ‘full of soul and life’. Sounds even better in Spanish…
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer


Possibly the best of the "new" single vineyards, El Carretil is the only wine that might challenge the supremacy of El Pisón. This is a pure Tempranillo from soils richer in calcium carbonate that produces more austere tannins and a different, chalky texture. Analytically, this wine is always more acidic (lower pH than any of the rest). The nose is austere and a little closed, it takes time to start revealing its aromas as the character is more backward.

Here the oak is perfectly integrated (and all these wines mature for 14 months in brand new French oak barrels and never come through as oaky), serious and mineral. It's not a fruit-driven wine, it talks more about the soil, compact, serious and a bit taciturn. The palate is solid, with great consistency, austere and with chalky tannins. It is vertical, straight, slippery and elegant but still very young and in need of time to develop more complexity in bottle.

The entry is sharp but then it seems to gain volume as it warms up inside your mouth, growing like the incredible Hulk; a gentle giant, incisive and pure. It could be drunk now but it should blossom with some more time in the bottle. It has great acidity and the combination of stuffing, acidity and balance will secure a long, slow development. The acidity cleanses the palate but at the same time makes it very long.
We all know about El Pisón, but we should also pay attention to El Carretil. 4,000 bottles produced.
Luis Gutierrez eRobertParker.com #218 Apr 2015