Artadi Pagos Viejos Reserva 1997

Deep, inky ruby with a serious nose, blackberry, dark chocolate, licorice root and dried fig, with spicy oak woven underneath. Lean and focused on the palate, built around black fruit and mineral precision rather than any kind of richness or weight. The tannins and acidity are still angular, not yet fully resolved, and this wine makes no effort to hide it. What strikes you is the length, which outpaces what the '97 vintage usually delivers. Tasted in Artadi's cave beneath the walls of Laguardia, which felt entirely appropriate. Hold for several more years.