La Condenada 2021

In 2012, the brothers Arturo and Kike de Miguel Blanco acquired the 0.75 hectare vineyard "Camino del Ciego" for their Artuke winery. Within a few years, one of the best single-vineyard wines in Rioja and Spain, La Condenada, was created from the mixed vineyard planted in 1920.

The plot with the main grape variety Tempranillo as well as Graciano, Garnacha and Palomino Fino is located at an altitude of 560 metres in the Rioja Alavesa. The vines are grown on stakes. The soil consists of a forty-centimetre-thick layer of sand, with hard sandstone spreading out underneath. The two winemakers harvest and ferment the grapes together. The wine is aged for 12 months in 600-litre oak barrels.

Deep purple

La Condenada 2021 has a chalky mineral bouquet, is initially closed and sparse. With air contact, dark fruits and floral aromas emerge, but the earthy impression remains predominant. The nose seems completely unadorned, has depth and intensity.

Let's start from the back The finish of La Condenada 2021 is almost endless. The distinctive fine-grained tannins leave a velvety mouthfeel that seems to last forever. At this stage the wine is still too young, but on the palate you can feel the primal power of this vineyard, the vibrant acidity, the gripping tannins and the enormous juiciness. La Condenada is a wine without equal in terms of depth, length and intensity. With this "Grand Cru", the Artuke winery has catapulted itself into the first league of Rioja, alongside producers such as Artadi, Telmo Rodriguez and Alvaro Palacios.