Remelluri, Lindes de Remelluri, Vinedos de Labastida, Rioja, 2021

Remelluri, Lindes de Remelluri, Vinedos de Labastida, Rioja, 2021Remelluri was founded by monks in the 14th Century, although there is evidence dating even farther back of wine being made on these premises. The vines changed hands a number of times over the years before being purchased by Jaime Rodriguez in 1967. In 2010, Jaimes son and daughter, Telmo and Amaia Rodrguez, took the reins of the estate and set about making a series of changes to showcase the potential and diversity of Remellurs different terroirs,

Remelluri was founded by monks in the 14th Century, although there is evidence dating even farther back of wine being made on these premises. The vines changed hands a number of times over the years before being purchased by Jaime Rodriguez in 1967. In 2010, Jaime’s son and daughter, Telmo and Amaia Rodríguez, took the reins of the estate and set about making a series of changes to showcase the potential and diversity of Remellur’s different terroirs, and ultimately reclaim Rioja’s viticultural history.

The first major change was to cut down the production of Remelluri wines by one third, restricting it to wines produced from the estate’s own grapes. The two wines made from grapes grown in the surrounding villages are now sold under the label ‘Las Lindes de Remelluri’, and are identified each by their village of origin: Labastida and San Vicente de la Sonsierra. As a nod to Rioja’s historic viticultural traditions, they have begun moving the Garnacha from trellis to bush-grown vines and will be working increasingly with mixed field plantings. Although Remelluri has always eschewed chemical treatments in the vineyard, 2010 marked the year of the estate’s full organic certification. Work in the winery plays a secondary role in Telmo’s philosophy, but great care is taken to make sure that each bottle reflects the terruño of the region: wines are fermented with native yeasts, each plot is vinified separately, new oak is used very scarcely and the wines are very lightly filtered and fined. 

The Lindes de Remelluri project, meaning "Borders of Remelluri", crafts a vision of Rioja’s terroirs by focusing on the distinct styles of wines from two different villages: Labastida and San Vincente. The vines are planted on poor limestone terraces with clay-calcareous soils. Compared to San Vicente, Labastida is at a higher elevation, further from the Ebro River. The wine is lower in alcohol butwith more tannic and acidic structure.

Expressive nose with aromas of ripe red fruits, liquorice, vanilla and coconut. It has velvety tannins, the acidity is well-balanced by the flavour concentration and the finish is lengthy.