2023 Bodegas y Vinedos Artuke Pies Negros Rioja 6pk 6x750ml

Fourth-generation grower Roberto de Miguel stopped selling wine to big bodegas 30 years ago and began bottling it himself, hand-selling door-to-door in the Basque Country.

His children Arturo and Kike — whose names form the basis of the winery — now lead the project from their base in Banos de Ebro, a village in Rioja Alavesa on the banks of the Ebro River.

Arturo converted the family's 25 hectares to organic farming as soon as he took control in the 2000s, and today every vine grows as a bush with no trellis, the old way.

Pies Negros — Spanish for "black feet," a reference to the foot-stomping of the grapes — is the estate's core bottling, a blend of many different parcels across the Alavesa subzone of Abalos.

Sourced exclusively from 50-year-old vines planted in clay with calcareous topsoil at 500 to 600 meters of altitude, it's 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano, the classic Rioja blend built for structure and lift.

The destemmed grapes are naturally fermented in steel for five to seven days at gentle temperatures with no extractions, then aged for 12 to 14 months in a mix of old and new 500-liter French oak barrels, with around 10% in concrete tanks. Light filtration. The result: rustic, elegant, aromatic Rioja that punches well above its price.

Plenty of cherries and plums on the nose. Solid and crunchy, with fine, velvety tannins and a medium-to-full body that feels juicy and balanced. The finish keeps the ripe fruit vibrant. This is the kind of Rioja that makes supermarket reds taste emotionally vacant.