Artuke El Escolladero 2017

The 2017 El Escolladero is a blend of Tempranillo with 15% Graciano from a vineyard in the village of Ábalos that was planted in 1950 on clay and limestone soils at 660 meters in altitude. It fermented with uncrushed grapes and indigenous yeasts and matured in 600-liter oak barrels for 12 months. This was one of the last plots to be harvested in a very early vintage, around the 20th of September, which is extremely early anyway. Graciano was healthy, and it was a good year for the grape, so perhaps it contributed more to the blend since it yielded better. This is quite different from the wines from the early years when they used new oak. Now, all barrels are first used with the entry-level wines and are later used for the single-vineyard ones. There is no oak whatsoever here, and it has a great combination of power and elegance. The palate is medium-bodied, and the tannins are very fine. Power and elegance. This has to be the finest vintage for this wine and one of the best Artuke has produced. 1,160 bottles were filled in January 2019. This vineyard used to make a wine called K4 in the past.

The complex forest-berry, grilled-artichoke and spice nose makes this stand out of the pack. This also has a great balance of generous, fine tannins with sweet fruit on the palate that carry the long, elegant finish. Drink or hold.

There are only 1,300 bottles of this remarkable wine for the world, alas, so join the queue. Made with Tempranillo and 15% Graciano from limestone rich soils at 650 metres in Ábalos, it's a focused, pithy, complex red with incredible intensity, freshness, aromatic weight and balance. Black fruit sweetness, fine oak and chalky minerality combine winningly on the palate. 2023-32