I had the great pleasure of accepting an invitation to one of my favourite producers in Rioja, Artadi. A whistle stop tour that would give a huge insight into the extremely passionate and informative world of Juan Carlos Lopez, the proprietor of Artadi. I have been fortunate enough to have met many producers in my job but none with the infectious passion of Juan. A cabinet in his tasting/dining room even boast a collection of the best wines he has ever had and they are not just his own!

We arrived at Bilbao airport at 7.30pm and made a mad dash southwards to La Guardia where we dumped our bags at the hotel, had a sneaky cerveza, and head to Juan Carlos’ home. If you have never been, La Guardia is extremely picturesque and well worth a visit.

It was now 10.30pm and we were set for a long night. The evening started with a tasting and we decided to only focus on the El Pison vintages on offer (with the exception of the 2009) and leave the Pagos until the following morning. This, in hindsight, was a very good idea!

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