Artuke 2014, Rioja

Artuke 2014, Rioja
13.5%
€15.70

Delicious wine; ripe strawberries on the nose; supple easy sweet ripe strawberry and red cherry fruit on the palate with surprising concentration and depth. Lovely easy-drinking wine and very much my style. Sadly the retail price of this wine increased to over the €15 mark at the last minute.

I love unoaked Rioja, mainly I suspect, because I like Tempranillo. Too often it is swamped with oak, and you cannot actually taste the grape. Artuke are a producer worth looking out for; based up in the Basque part of Rioja, Rioja Alavesa, Arturo and Kiki (hence the name) are sons of Miguel Blanco who set up the winery. They make a number of single vineyard wines, and Pies Negro, which featured in Wilson on Wine last year.

Available from: Liston’s, Camden St.; 64wine, Glasthule; Clontarf Wines.