Artadi San Lazaro 2020

Artadi San Lázaro 2020 is a prestigious Spanish red made by the renowned Artadi in Laguardia, Álava. It's a single-vineyard wine made from 100% Tempranillo from a vineyard planted in 1956.

The Wine Advocate
RP 95+

Reviewed by: Luis Gutiérrez

I was looking forward to the bottled version of the 2020 San Lázaro, my favourite of the “new” single-vineyard bottlings from a plot that used to go into Pagos Viejos. The sample I tasted last time showed great structure and a slender frame, an ethereal, long and floral wine, spicy and fresh. In 2020 they used a small amount of white grapes, and there's even more in 2021, when they decided to systematically use 2% to 4% white grapes in vineyards where these are interplanted with Tempranillo. This wine has finesse and is slender and delicate, with something ethereal, quite open and a little more evolved, with some unexpected toasty notes. Here most of the barrels were 500 litres (three 500-litre and two 225-litre barrels). 2,000 bottles were filled in June 2021.

Critic James Suckling gave Artadi San Lázaro 2020 97 points.

Nose: He highlights natural depth and concentration, with notes of tar and wet stones (mineral character). There's also a floral side marked by lavender and violets, mingling with deep aromas of fresh blueberries.

Palate: He describes "melted", fibrous tannins that firmly coat the palate, giving a mouthfeel that's both silky and mealy.

Structure and Finish: It's considered a very long, elegant wine, with a persistent finish lasting about a minute.

Recommendation: Drink now or hold. 

For James Suckling, this vintage shows superior elegance and impressive precision in its use of old-vine Tempranillo.