Rioja for Your Backyard BBQ

August 25-31, 2014
2012 Artuke Maceración Carbónica
Price: $18.99/Bottle – SOLD OUT

What is classic red Rioja wine? Is it the the Gran Reservas aged for years before bottling and full of dark, raisin-like fruit with amazing complexity? Or is it the light and fruity wines preferred by Basques in the northern sub-zone of Alavesa?

The answer is both.

An ideal wine for this Labor Day weekend, 2012 Artuke Maceración Carbónica is an example of the latter. Carbonic maceration is a wine-making technique used to enhance aromatics and produce light, fresh, fruity wines. Artuke Maceración Carbónica is a blend of mainly Tempranillo grapes, fermented and aged in cement and stainless steel. Candied red berries follow behind a burst of violets and cinnamon on the nose. There is minimal tannic structure (the grippy finish that’s desired in many types of red wines) which allows this wine to take a deeper chill. It’s quite versatile pairing with food: grilled tuna, pretty much anything made with zucchini, fried chicken, gooey cheese sandwiches, and pizza, just to name a few.

Artuke is the contraction of the names of Arturo and Kike (nickname for Enrique) de Miguel Blanco, young growers and winemakers in the historical Basque province of Álava. Over the last few years they have completely remade their winery to focus on small vineyard plots in and around their village. While their top cuvées, some from single vineyard sights, are highly rated and sought after, the easy drinking Maceración Carbónica is more of an homage to their grandfather who made wine in this style many years past.

We’re looking forward to featuring their winemaking methods and philosophy in a future email about another Artuke cuvée that we offer, Pies Negros (black feet), named for the traditional stomping of the grapes. This is a technique they also apply to Maceración Carbónica and one they believe softens the wines, versus the violent crushing of the grapes through a mechanical press. They are one of the few wineries in Rioja that still use this traditional method.

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Posted on 2014.08.24 in Spain DO, Rioja DOC