Bodegas Artelan Rioja Tempranillo 2025

	Juicy, fruity Tempranillo with clear terroir expression
	An ode to the Cosechero tradition
	Even better slightly chilled, for example with a barbecue.

Description

With their fantastic new project, Artélan and winemaker Tao Platon demonstrate that Rioja can produce delicious, smooth, enjoyable wines that simultaneously clearly reflect their origins. Although they are not allowed to mention it on the label, this Tempranillo is actually a Cosechero, making it an ode to traditional winemaking in Rioja.

Cosechero is derived from cosecha (harvest) and means something like grape grower or vineyard owner. Until the industrialization of wine production, they played a central role in Rioja. They made young, juicy red wines by fermenting whole bunches of grapes in large concrete vats (lagares) and treading the grapes with their feet.

With the rise of industrialization, however, carbonation was introduced (just as in Beaujolais). Thanks to this modern technique, it became more efficient to produce juicy, fruity red wines, but the range of vino joven (young, unaged wine) consequently became much duller and more uniform.

Because Cosecheros remain just as relevant today in the highly fragmented Rioja Alavesa – the average plot here measures only 0.3 hectares – Artélan and Tao decided to produce a true, traditional style Cosechero. The Tempranillo grapes come from 30-year-old bush vines planted on limestone-rich soils at the foot of the Sierra Cantabria. After hand-picking, they simply ferment into wine, without carbonation or oak aging.

And that results in a super-pure, juicy, and fruity Cosechero 2.0 that is both accessible and possesses a distinct Rioja character with sufficient structure. Don't miss it, because this is not only top quality for the price, but also a wine style you rarely encounter outside of Spain.