Remelluri Reserva 2016 Red Wine

The Granja Nuestra Señora de Remelluri dates back to the 14th Century, it was founded by monks, who settled on the hillsides of the

Mount Toloño in the foothills of the Sierra de Cantabria, as the site offered natural protection against northern winds and frosts. Vines

had always been grown around this magnificent estate, and today account for 95 of its 150 hectares. In 1967, Jaime Rodríguez bought

the neglected property, and invested in restoring its vineyards, which are the heart and soul of the project. In 2010, Jaime’s son, Telmo

Rodríguez, alongside his sister Amaia, returned to the estate with the sole aim of giving Remelluri the reputation it thoroughly

deserves.

Since Telmo took the reins of the project, the focus has been on the vineyards, which are farmed organically with some biodynamic

treatments, and there has been the transition from trellised vines to bush vines, which are much more suited to the meso-climate of

the region. His ethos is grounded in respecting the sites that he is fortunate enough to work with, translating them into outstanding

terroir-driven wines. You can find a range of grapes across the estate depending on the suitability of each plot, but the focus is firmly

on a sense of place rather than the grape variety. Altitudes of the vineyards range between 550m and 850m above sea level and are

mostly south facing. Soils are a combination of limestone and clay.

The winery plays a secondary role in Telmo’s philosophy. Great care is taken to make sure what’s in each bottle reflects the terruño of

the region, the winemaking is low-intervention: wines are fermented with native yeasts, each plot is vinified separately, new oak is

used sparingly, and the wines are very lightly filtered and fined.

Remelluri Reserva is the flagship of the estate, made of mainly Tempranillo, with Garnacha, Graciano, Viura and Malvasía, from

vines that are between 10 and 90+ years old. It is aged for 17 months in barrel and released after a minimum of three years in the cellar.

Granja Remelluri Gran Reserva is a truly special wine, approachable in youth, but with terrific ageing potential. It’s a blend of

Remelluri’s best fruit, combining white and red varieties. The wine, following Spain’s tradition of holding onto the bottles before

release, spends a minimum of 6 years in the cellar. Remelluri Blanco is a singular wine, a blend of nine different grape varieties (none

of which is Viura!), fermented in a variety of vessels and aged for 18 months in neutral French oak. It’s chalky on the palate and has

great finesse, with power and the freshness from the high-altitude vineyards.