Remelluri Reserva Red

This Rioja property can trace its roots all the way back to the 14th century, when the vines were farmed by monks. Changing hands multiple times over the centuries, eventually the winery was purchased by Jaime Rodríguez in 1967. Jaime and his wife Amaia were intellectuals; he an archaeologist and she an artist. The couple focused on the estate's historic vineyards and in 1971 Remelluri became the first single-vineyard Rioja of the modern era. In 2010, Jaime’s son and daughter, Telmo and Amaia Rodríguez Hernandorena, stepped into their father's formidable shoes. Many consider Telmo to be one of Spain's greatest winemakers. When Amaia and Telmo took control of Remelluri, they set about making a series of changes to showcase the potential and diversity of the properties holdings. Cutting production by 1/3, they decided that their main wines would be made from only estate fruit. The vines are farmed according to organic principles and every step is taken to encourage a balanced polyculture. In the cellar Telmo is joined by his business partner Pablo Eguzkiza, who cut his teeth at famed Château Petrus. The wines are fermented naturally with indigenous yeasts, with each plot fermented separately. New oak is rarely used and the wines are very lightly filtered and fined.

"The estate red 2015 Reserva was produced with Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano from their 86 hectares of vineyards. It's from an early harvest after a warm and dry year that achieved perfect ripeness with some rain at the end of the cycle. It fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel and oak vats and matured in barrel for 21 months. It combines youth with development, power with elegance and comes through as clean and defined, with a medium to full-bodied palate, focused flavors and a dry but lively finish." - 94 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate