Produced with the Temporanillo grapes sourced from a myriad of small plots planted with old vines (hence its name), a little bit of the blend of three plots (Valdeginés, La Poza de Ballesteros and El Carretil), the 2012 Pagos Viejos shows a fine thread of acidity, but here I get more notes from the barrel in the nose. Then the palate is the one with rounder tannins, it feels very gentle and well educated. It has good volume and silkiness, A noteworthy Pagos Viejos. 20,000 bottles were produced.

The 2011 Pagos Viejos is a blend from different parcels of old-vine Tempranillo over 50 years old from the villages of Laguardia, Elvillar and Leza, fermented in open wooden vats and aged for 15 months in French oak barrels. At this point in time it’s pure fruit, very primary, approachable, easy to understand and clean, with great balance and length. Drink 2015-2022. I tasted Artadi’s 2010s and 2011s, as they seem to be selling the new vintages very fast and they even sell part of their wines en primeur. 2010, 2011 and 2012 have been very dry years. I didn’t have the chance to taste any 2012s, but I look forward to doing so the next time around. 2011 seems to be more fruit forward, more primary, without the complexity and depth of the 2010s, which were very elegant and is a superb vintage for Artadi. There are differences in texture between the two years, 2010 being more gentle, rounder and silkier and 2011 a bit wilder with a touch of rusticity. When it comes to production methods, only Tempranillo is used (except for the white which is produced exclusively with Viura), they destemmed all the grapes, the press wine never makes it into the final blends, and they only use French oak barrels. Imported by Folio Fine Wine Partners, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 256-2700; www.foliowine.com

The 2010 Pagos Viejos is a blend from different plots of old-vine Tempranillo over 50 years old, from the villages of Laguardia, Elvillar and Leza, fermented in open wooden vats and aged for fifteen months in French oak barrels. It’s a backward and tight wine, initially showing some wood, but it soon comes back with fresh red fruit with the depth and complexity of the old vines. Sweet, polished tannins, very persistent, a great subtle wine, power with elegance. Superb! Drink 2014-2025. I tasted Artadi’s 2010s and 2011s, as they seem to be selling the new vintages very fast and they even sell part of their wines en primeur. 2010, 2011 and 2012 have been very dry years. I didn’t have the chance to taste any 2012s, but I look forward to doing so the next time around. 2011 seems to be more fruit forward, more primary, without the complexity and depth of the 2010s, which were very elegant and is a superb vintage for Artadi. There are differences in texture between the two years, 2010 being more gentle, rounder and silkier and 2011 a bit wilder with a touch of rusticity. When it comes to production methods, only Tempranillo is used (except for the white which is produced exclusively with Viura), they destemmed all the grapes, the press wine never makes it into the final blends, and they only use French oak barrels. Imported by Folio Fine Wine Partners, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 256-2700; www.foliowine.com

Things start heating up with the awesome 2009 Pagos Viejos, which is a blend of Juan Carlos's old plots of vine. It demands coaxing from the glass, the broody dark berry, licorice-tinged fruit remaining bashful under a cloak of French oak, but intimating something alluring ten years down the line. The palate is full-bodied with a silky smooth texture, the oak singing from the same hymn sheet as the precocious fruit that is underpinned by super-fine tannins. It offers weightless intensity. The Pagos Viejos has fine symmetry and poise towards the finish with a just a faint tang of Seville orange marmalade on the aftertaste. Everything is in place - just add time. Drink 2018-2030. Artadi was one of several imperative visits during my visit to Rioja, where I met respected winemaker Juan Carlos Lopez de Lacalle. His wines need little introduction, having already garnered glowing reviews in this publication and elsewhere. But what I was interested in discovering was whether Rioja can really exploit the minutiae of its multifarious terroirs and offer genuine nuances in a similar fashion to Burgundy or the Mosel (to give but two examples of regions where place is everything). If there is one man who lives by that philosophy, it is Juan Carlos, who oversees a coveted range of modern style Rioja that receive a generous amount of new French oak. Let us commence with the entry-level Vinas de Gain red and white. The Viura is harvested separately from Juan Carlos's intermixed vineyard and is fermented in 500-liter French oak barrels and kept in stainless steel tanks on the lees with three of four lees-stirring. Importer: Folio Fine Wine Partners, www.foliowine.com in the US, and www.bbr.com in the UK.

The 2008 Pagos de Viejas was selected from three of the estate’s finest and most elevated sites with all of the vines over 75 years of age. The wine was aged for 18 months in new French oak. Deeply colored, it offers up a superb nose of pain grille, pencil lead, Asian spices, incense, and assorted black fruits. Rich, layered, and beautifully proportioned, this lengthy effort will evolve for 5-7 years and offer a drinking window extending from 2016 to 2028+. In addition to the two new releases listed above, I received samples of the various components of the 2009 Vina El Pison. Inky purple, dense and rich, it will surely be a contender for a perfect score. But that is a story for next year. Importer: Folio Fine Wine Partners, Napa, CA