Artuke

Artuke is a small family business in Baños de Ebro in Rioja Alavesa. Brothers Arturo and Kike de Miquel (Artuke is a combination of their first names) have been working at their parents’ business since 2003 and 2010 respectively, who now advise the boys in the background. The focus is entirely on making terroir-driven wines with expression of the vineyards, a Burgundian complexity and elegance.

Organic vineyards
The family owns 28 hectares divided over 50 plots between their village of Baños de Ebro and the village of Abalos. These vineyards are of considerable age. But what matters most is that they are located in the best locations in Rioja. The vineyards are farmed organically. The altitude varies between 450 and 720 meters, and the share of Graciano is considerable. This results in wines with a refined acidity, which contributes to the juicy digestibility of every sip.

Rioja ’n Roll
Arturo and Kike are very careful with the traditional values ​​of the bodega but know exactly what they (and we!) like. In the cellar they work differently than previous generations. You will not find wines with crianza, reserva or gran reserva designations here. No, the wines do not have to comply with traditional imposed wood maturation. Arturo and Kike let the terroir dominate by relatively short maturation on neutral French oak from 500 to 3500L. This gives you modern wines with an emphasis on fruit and vineyard and, due to the subtly dosed wood, especially on elegance. The wines also mature statically, so with as few actions as possible in the cellar, which provokes reduction. According to Arturo, the way to limit the use of sulphur and thus ensure more purity, energy and complexity in the wines. They belong to a group of ten young, talented winemakers who call themselves ‘Rioja ’n Roll’. Young dogs, who like to do things differently than the established order there. And that is exactly what we like – and not only.

Two favourite wines
The most important wines for us are the Artuke Maceración Carbónica, from the plots around the village of Baños de Ebro. This ‘joven’ is wonderfully fruit-driven, has no wood and is ideal for drinking cool in the summer. Finca de los Locos (the estate of the madmen) is named after grandfather who, when purchasing it, ignored the extremely poor soil, which the villagers thought would be impossible to work. This ‘loco’ turned out to be a very good decision because this Mediterranean wine is truly beautiful.

International appreciation is high
Where both Maceración Carbónica and Finca de los Locos have their own character, the ‘village wine’ Pies Negros also has a funny characteristic: half of the grapes are still pressed with the feet. Whether it is the perfect location, the dedication of the two brothers or the signature, the wines are certainly noticed by the critics. Not only Parker is very enthusiastic. Tim Atkin is also a fan. He named Arturo ‘Young Winemaker of the Year’ in 2017, together with the mention ‘First Growth’ in his Rioja classification report. And in 2019, according to him, La Condenada 2016 is the ‘best red wine’ from the Rioja with 98 points.