Artazu Pasos de San Martin Garnacha 2018

Artazu Pasos de San Martin Garnacha, Navarra, Spain, 2018 

Grape: 100% organic Garnacha grown at 600m altitude on clay/limestone soils, no pesticides or herbicides used. Fermentation in open-top stainless steel vats with barrel ageing in large French oak casks.

The Garnacha that is grown near the historic village of San Martin de Unx has a bright ruby red colour which creates light and transparency in the glass. Forest floor aromas and blue flowers abound on the nose. In the mouth it is full of life and fruit, with delicate and fresh tannins. A wine full of energy and authenticity.

"The 2018 Pasos de San Martín is the wine produced with Garnacha from the cooler zone of San Martín de Unx in Navarra where they have 11 hectares of 40-year-old vines on a southeast exposure where the soils are rich in limestone and silt. As has been the case in the last few years with Artadi's reds, it had a short élevage of only nine months in 500-liter French oak barrels, including malolactic. The climate and soils are quite similar to Rioja, maybe a bit more extreme here, cooler in cool vintages, warmer in warm years, so this 2018 shows a little like the range from Rioja, elegant and with more freshness. It's quite pure, clean and with very fine tannins. 18,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2021. They skipped the 2017 vintage of this wine."

93/100 points, Luis Gutierrez, Wine Advocate, December 2021

Since 1996, Bodegas Artazu (owned by Bodegas Artadi) has been producing wines in the historical wine region of Navarra. After devastation by phyloxera at the end of the 19th century, its future had been uncertain. In addition, there are nutrient poor, rugged plots with a difficult climate that is dry and hot in the summer, and cold and humid in the winter.

With over 40 hectares of vineyards spread between two villages, Artazu seeks to restore Grenache and Navarra to their former glory.