Why it matters
The producer
Artadi farms 56 hectares of Tempranillo in Rioja Alavesa and bottles every drop outside the Rioja denomination. The Lacalle and Laorden families, who took full ownership in 1992, built Artadi into one of the most discussed addresses in the subzone, then in 2015 walked away from the Rioja DOCa name entirely. The wines that carry the estate's highest-regarded parcels, including the old-vine single-vineyard El Pisón, now appear on shelves labelled Vinos de la Tierra de Álava rather than Rioja DOCa.
The core range is Tempranillo-driven: village-level blends, old-vine cuvées, and single-parcel expressions from around Laguardia and Elvillar de Álava. A small volume of white wine from Viura completes the range. Organic farming has been the estate baseline since the family took control, with no synthetic inputs used across any of the 56 hectares.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Laguardia sits in Rioja Alavesa, the northern subzone of Rioja, which falls administratively within the Álava province of the Basque Country rather than the Rioja region to the south. The distinction matters for the wine: Rioja Alavesa sits at higher elevation than the Rioja Alta and Rioja Baja subzones, sheltered to the north by the Cantabrian mountains and by the Sierra de Toloño range directly above Artadi's vineyards. That shelter holds Atlantic weather at bay during summer, giving warm days with cooler nights than lower-elevation Rioja. The result for Tempranillo is slower, more even ripening: fruit that reaches full colour and flavour without losing the acidity that keeps a wine alive across years.
Since 2015 the wines carry the Vinos de la Tierra de Álava label rather than Rioja DOCa. An Artadi bottle will not say Rioja on the front label, even though it was grown and made in Rioja Alavesa.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Organic farming across all 56 hectares means no synthetic pesticides, no synthetic fertilisers, and a managed approach to soil biodiversity. For vine health, organic management generally allows more natural microbial activity in the soil, supports root development, and avoids residue buildup in the vine system. For fruit character, lower intervention in the vineyard tends to produce smaller berries with more concentrated juice and greater aromatic expression.
The estate separates parcels during vinification rather than blending everything into a single vat early. Parcel-specific vinification, which allows winemakers to assess each plot independently before deciding on blending or bottling, is central to range architecture at Artadi.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range is built on Tempranillo across three tiers. The entry point is a village-level red, now labelled under Vinos de la Tierra de Álava following the 2015 DOCa exit, sourced from younger and broader parcels around Laguardia. Expect firm cherry fruit, moderate tannin, and enough acidity to drink with food or develop modestly over three to five years.
Pagos Viejos is the old-vine village-level tier: Tempranillo from older parcels across the Laguardia area. The older vine age reduces natural yield and concentrates flavour, producing a wine with deeper colour, more dried herb and dark fruit character, firmer tannin, and a longer finish than the entry red. It is the main workhorse of the range.