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Artuke - Rioja's New Icons

by Hugh French | Oct 15, 2025

Thirty years ago, fourth-generation grower Roberto de Miguel made a pivotal decision: to stop selling his Rioja Alavesa wine to large bodegas in Haro and to begin bottling it himself. He sold his wine door-to-door from his van in the Basque Country, reaching as far as Bilbao.

Now, Roberto's sons, Arturo and Kike, continue this independent spirit under the name Artuke, a blend of their names. They challenge the traditional Rioja classification system, focusing instead on expressing the unique terroirs around Baños de Ebro, Ábalos, San Vicente de Sonsierra, and Samaniego.

When Roberto began bottling his own wine in 1991, he revived local small-scale traditions. He used fruit from hand-tended, head-pruned vines, gently fermented the wine, and aged it for a short time in barrels to prioritise primary fruit flavours and allow for development in the bottle.

After joining the family winery, Arturo applied his knowledge acquired through his agricultural and enology Masters degrees. He advocates balance over hyper-concentration, while Kike's research into their 32 estate plots emphasised the expression of sites through traditional farming. The brothers uphold Rioja Alavesa traditions and practice organic viticulture, short macerations, and aging in large, neutral vessels.

Their wines consistently receive high praise from critics Luis Gutiérrez and Tim Atkin, with Atkin classifying Artuke as a First Growth. The range includes two village wines, Finca de los Locos and Paso Las Mañas, alongside two crown jewels: El Escolladero and La Condenada, both showcasing exceptional quality.

Rejecting traditional aging classifications, all their wines carry the generic 'Rioja' label. As Arturo states, they want their wines to express their history and traditions, aiming to create unique wines rather than the "best wine in the world."

The wines produced by the de Miguel brothers truly exceed all expectations in terms of value. They are pure, sublimely balanced and express the individual personalities of the different sites with quiet confidence. These are hugely captivating wines that we cannot recommend more highly.

2024 Rioja 'Classic'

Usually $29

NOW $26

SAVE MORE IN A 6-PACK $144 ($24/BTL)

92 Points

"The eponymous 2024 Artuke is a juicy and tasty carbonic maceration red, a modern rendition of the classical "cosechero" wines. It is perfumed, aromatic and heady, with aromas of bubble gum and flowers and a velvety palate with almost unnoticeable tannins. It's a young and unoaked Tempranillo with some 5% white Viura grapes from the village of Baños de Ebro and was kept in concrete until it was bottled. 80,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2024. This is a bargain to buy by the truckload and drink unashamedly."

Luis Gutiérrez, THE WINE ADVOCATE

2023 Rioja 'Trascuevas' Blanco

Usually $95

NOW $86

94 Points

"The white 2023 Trascuevas Blanco is a blend of grapes from three plots in Baños de Ebro, Samaniego and Ábalos and is 85% Viura, 10% Palomino Fino and 5% Malvasía Riojana. It fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured with equal parts in concrete and 600-liter oak foudres for 11 months. It has moderate ripeness and a floral personality and is clean, young and pale, with some green tints. It has 13.1% alcohol and a low pH of 3.12 that indicates very good freshness in the wine. It's floral and elegant, with no oak in the aromas or flavors, and it has an elegant profile, with purity and balance. It finishes dry and serious, with a with a chalky sensation. This is very good indeed."

Luis Gutiérrez, THE WINE ADVOCATE

2023 Rioja 'Pies Negros'

Usually $45

NOW $40

ALSO AVAILABLE IN MAGNUM

Usually $95

NOW $86

93 Points

"The dark and serious 2023 Pies Negros is a village red from Ábalos produced with Tempranillo and 15% Graciano, which seems to have given it a serious twist with deep dark fruit aromas and very good freshness. The destemmed but uncrushed grapes fermented with indigenous yeasts, and the wine matured in 500-liter barrels for one year, save for 10% of the volume that was kept in concrete. It has contained ripeness and good freshness and balance, and it's juicy and tasty, with fine tannins and a velvety mouthfeel. Serious is the word."

Luis Gutiérrez, THE WINE ADVOCATE

2023 Rioja 'Finca de los Locos'

Usually $75

NOW $69

94 Points

"The label of the single-vineyard 2023 Finca de Los Locos now has the name of the "paraje" where the vines are, Peñaescalera in Baños de Ebro. It comes from a 2.8-hectare plot planted in 1981 on sandy and gravel soils at 120 meters above sea level. This year, it's 70% Tempranillo, 25% Graciano and 5% white Viura, with more Graciano this time, which possibly contributes to the seriousness of the wine. It comes in at 13.8% alcohol and a pH of 3.42, very good and balanced parameters that imply freshness. It matured in 3,500-liter oak vats for 12 months. It's perfumed and elegant, floral and herbal, with dark fruit and a medium to full-bodied palate with very fine tannins and great harmony."

Luis Gutiérrez, THE WINE ADVOCATE

2023 Rioja 'Paso las Manas'

Usually $92

NOW $84

95 Points

"The 2023 Paso Las Mañas, reminiscent of the 2021 more than the 2022, now carries the name of the lieu-dit, El Chorro, in the village of Samaniego where the vineyard is at 700 meters above sea level below the Sierra Cantabria. The 3.9-hectare plot was planted in 1990 and 2013 on limestone and rocky soils. The Tempranillo grapes fermented with indigenous yeasts, and the wine matured in 3,500-liter oak foudre for 12 months. It has a subtle and complex nose redolent of raspberries and dark cherries, with spices and herbs. It has a moderate 13.6% alcohol, a pH of 3.38, very good balance and elegant and fine tannins. All of these 2023s have a serious and somewhat austere profile and are balanced and elegant."

Luis Gutiérrez, THE WINE ADVOCATE

2023 Rioja 'El Escolladero'

Usually $205

NOW $189

96 Points

"The 2023 El Escolladero, like its siblings, carries lieu-dit information on its label. It's from the lieu-dit of El Meadero (which doesn't sound that nice in Spanish), a 0.95-hectare plot on clay and limestone soils in the village of Ábalos that was planted in 1950 at 660 meters above sea level. It's a little backward and with the seriousness that I noticed in all the 2023s. It's 80% Tempranillo and 20% Graciano (all the wines seem to have more Graciano this year) that ripened to 14.1% alcohol but keeping a pH of 3.42, delivering a powerful and elegant wine. It's juicy, round and young, with abundant, very chalky tannins."

Luis Gutiérrez, THE WINE ADVOCATE

2023 Rioja 'La Condenada'

Usually $249

NOW $229

97 Points

"The label of the single-vineyard 2023 La Condenada carries the name of the place where it's located, Paraje Camino del Ciego, which is in the village of Baños de Ebro. It's from a 0.75-hectare plot planted with a field blend that in 2023 yielded approximately 80% Tempranillo and the remaining 20% a mixture of Graciano, Garnacha and white Palomino Fino. It's serious, subtle and elegant, with insinuating aromas. It's very elegant, with contained ripeness, 13.8% alcohol and a pH of 3.36, a velvety palate with very fine and elegant tannins and with a chalky finish. It should develop nicely in bottle, as it has the stuffing and balance between the components to do so."

Luis Gutiérrez, THE WINE ADVOCATE