Remelluri, Reserva, 750ml, Rioja, Spain

The Project
Remelluri is one of the most timeless and iconic landscapes of the wine world, as well as one of the most enchanting vineyards in Spain. Firmly anchored in its deep history, which dates back to the tenth century when Count Erramel, a Basque warrior and aristocrat from Álava, founded a small village on the site (uri in Basque); hence the name Erramel Uri evolved to Remelluri. The first wines were made here in the fourteenth century, when Hieronymite monks tended the monastery atop the nearby Sierra de Toloño mountains and founded a sanctuary and farm on the site. Today, Remelluri leverages its rich past to illuminate the path forward for not only the future of Rioja but also for world-class, terroir-based fine wines across Spain. 
Remelluri became the first single-estate/monopole Rioja of the modern era with its release of the 1971 vintage. Remelluri is currently owned and tended by the Spanish winemaking icon Telmo Rodríguez and his family, with Telmo’s creative partner Pablo Eguzkiza heading up the winemaking team. 
The Vineyards
Remelluri’s vineyards are located contiguously along the slopes of the Sierra de Toloño mountains, part of the Sierra de Cantabria chain, in the valleys of Valderemelluri, La Granja, and Villaescusa, just above the village of Labastida in Rioja Alavesa. The Remelluri vineyards are at the highest elevation in the Rioja region, with south-facing vines planted between 590 and 805m, protected from the prevailing northern winds and frost. The Remelluri landscape is an integrated system of agriculture with great respect for the environment, which includes certified-organic farming with biodynamic treatments, as well as regenerative and agroforestry elements employed throughout the property to encourage biodiversity and harmony between the vineyard, mountainside, and human elements. 
The estate consists of over a hundred and fifty individual plots, all of which are vinified separately. One of the keys to the location’s significance is that the vines are planted in terraced amphitheaters following the contours of the mountainside, which shelters them from the harsh weather on the leeward side. Remelluri is pure mountain Rioja.
 
The Wine
Remelluri Reserva is the original wine from Granja Nuestra Señora de Remelluri, sourced from the most important vineyards consisting of 153 plots in 25 sites at the contiguous property. Only indigenous varieties are used, planted as far back as 1918 through today, averaging 40 years old. The blend consists primarily of goblet-trained tempranillo, garnacha, and graciano varieties with an average yield of 29hl/ha. Only grapes from the estate are used for Remelluri Reserva, farmed organically (certified by ENEEK, the Basque Agricultural Regulatory Council), with the utilization of regenerative and biodynamic farming principles. Remelluri Reserva is made with low intervention, and bottled unfiltered, with minimal sulfur added at bottling.
Vintage – 2016: was an outstanding Remelluri vintage, at the very top end of the scale, with many comparisons to stellar vintages like 2004 and 2010. 2016 Reserva is classically-styled, offering the best of everything: balance and freshness paired with beautiful phenolics and silky tannins, backed by moderate alcohol levels. 2016 Remelluri Reserva is built to age and improve for decades, certainly one of the very best vintages of the decade, with similar excellence expected from the upcoming  2019 and 2020. 
The 2016 vintage at Remelluri began with a late vegetative cycle with slow budding due to a very mild winter and a cold spring with lots of rain that replenished water reserves. Late flowering and a good fruit set resulted in both optimal quantity and quality of grapes. Late summer was warm and dry with veraison beginning in mid-August and continuing through mid-September. Harvest was characterized by a delayed ripening period, as well as by its prolonged duration. Fall was quite warm with more rainfall in September, which further encouraged freshness, and wide temperature differences between day and night that helped to complete the ripening process. Grapes were hand-harvested parcel by parcel, beginning October 15 and lasting until November 2. The result of the 2016 vintage was an outstanding harvest in terms of health of the grapes and phenolic ripeness paired with lively acidity, delivering an exciting, high-quality vintage that will be a classic Remelluri for decades to come. 
Vinification – Bunches were hand-selected between October 15 until November 2, placed in small boxes and taken directly to the winery. Whole clusters were destemmed and crushed, and the must was spontaneously fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks and old, open-top foudres. The wine was aged for 21 months in foudres and barrels of various sizes, clarified with gelatin and bottled unfiltered from April 15 to May 10, 2019. Remelluri Reserva is aged in bottle for five years in the Remelluri cellar before release to the market.
Villages: Labastida (Álava) and San Vicente de la Sonsierra (Rioja)
Site: Villaescusa, Valderemelluri, El Fustal, El Rincón, Vadegarú, Cisqueros, Ruancho, and Valpardillo
Elevation: 590-805m
Grapes: 83% Tempranillo / 10% Garnacha / 7% Graciano 
Yield: 29 HL/HA
Vine Age: Vines planted from 1918 to present—average age of 40 years
Soil: Calcareous clay soils over limestone, with sandstone marls of Tertiary origin
Vinification: Spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel and old foudres
Aging: 21 months in foudres and barrels of various sizes, followed by five years in bottle
Farming: Regenerative Farming, Certified Organic by ENEEK Basque Organic Regulatory Council, Practicing Biodynamic
SO2: 45mg/L total
Filtration: None
Vegan: No, clarified with gelatin