2021 El Carretil
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Tasting notes
The nose of the 2021 El Carretil is an explosion of flowers; it's aromatic, perfumed, open, expressive and super elegant, clean, nuanced and showy. It has a seamless palate with very fine tannins, ethereal, with lots of energy and light. This has to be the finest vintage of El Carretil to date. Today, this hits the bull's-eye. Bravo! 5,300 bottles were filled in May 2023.
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James Suckling
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
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The 2021 El Carretil is 100% Tempranillo from Laguardia, Rioja Alavesa, planted on sandy-silt soils with 20% lime content. Exhibiting a purple hue, the nose offers herbal aromas of pea and pennyroyal, layered with notes of blueberry and bay leaf. On the palate, it is dry, chalky and rich, with a talcum powder texture that leads to a compact, austere flow. Vibrant and energetic, this wine embodies the taut and modern characteristics of Rioja, showcasing the streamlined nuances of Laguardia.
Intense aromas of white pepper, blueberries, graphite, metal shavings, violets, and black truffle follow through to a medium body with chewy and fine tannins and a very structured finish. Oyster shell as well. Subtle black pepper, too. Needs four or five years to soften and open. From organically grown grapes. Try after 2027.
The cask sample of the 2021 El Carretil was a bit tight and a little tannic. This is from a vineyard that has compact silt soils and tends to suffer in warm and dry years, and it did suffer a little in 2021, a warm-ish year a little in the style of 2005 and 2015—years of powerful wines. It has abundant chalky tannins and an austere palate, but the nose surfaces after some time in the glass.
About the producer
Owner and winemaker Juan Carlos López de Lacalle is among an elite group of global vintners whose expertise creates wines that stand above others in their regions. Artadi produces refined Rioja in unoaked and oaked styles, including superb Reservas and single-vineyard wines such as Viña El Pisón.