La Granja Nuestra Señora de Remelluri - Rioja Gran Reserva 2014

Remelluri became the first single-estate/monopole Rioja of the modern era with its release of the 1971 vintage. Remelluri is produced by the brother and sister team of Telmo Rodríguez (winemaker) and Amaia Rodríguez Hernandorena (viticulturist), with Telmo’s winemaking partner, the prolific Pablo Eguzkiza (trained at Château Petrus). 

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 organically-farmed vineyards here are at the highest elevation in the Rioja region, with vines planted between 590m and 850m, south-facing, and protected from the prevailing northern winds and frost.

Granja Nuestra Señora de Remelluri Gran Reserva is made in small quantities from the oldest, most important vineyards at the estate and represents the essence of the property. Granja is a high-altitude Rioja sourced from a selection of the vineyards that surround the winery and above into the mountain, with a higher proportion of old garnacha vines planted from 680 to 780m. Granja Remelluri delivers on the incredible, historic expectations while setting a new standard for ultra-elegant, terroir-driven Rioja from a single estate. It is built to improve in the cellar for many decades to come. 

Only indigenous varieties are used, planted from 1918, averaging over 70 years old. The blend consists primarily of goblet-trained tempranillo, garnacha, and graciano varieties with an average yield of 27hl/ha. Only grapes from the estate are used for Granja Remelluri. Certified organic farming (certified by ENEEK, the Basque Agricultural Regulatory Council) and made with low intervention, unfiltered, and minimal sulfur at bottling.

Vinification: bunches were hand-selected daily vine-by-vine between October 12 through October 24, 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 old, open-top foudres. It was then aged for 30 months in various French oak barrels: one to five-year-old barrels (225L, 400L, and 500L) and foudres ranging from 1200L to 2000L. The 2014 vintage was bottled without fining or filtration on May 25, 2017 and aged in the Remelluri cellar until August 2022.

The nose is full of pine forest, wild herbs, and black raspberries. A smoky raspberry depth yields to herbs, roasted cherries, and lively minerality. It is a wine that is incredibly focused and long-lasting through to the finish.

Blend: 58% Tempranillo, 28% Garnacha, 11% Graciano, 3% Other Varieties

"I tasted the 2014 Granja Remelluri Gran Reserva from a year that wasn't easy. Like 2013, which vintage I was able to compare this with in my earlier tasting, 2014 was also a late harvest with rain, and they also had to sort and select the grapes and ended up bottling a small quantity, 9,860 bottles instead of the usual 20,000 or so. It's a little riper than the 2013, but it feels very complete. This is a red for the long run, and I am truly impressed by its texture and the quality of the tannins. I see a jump in quality here, hopefully the direction the wines are going to develop in the future. It was bottled in May 2017 after close to 30 months in barrel." - 94 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Producer: La Granja Nuestra Señora de Remelluri

Country: Spain

Region: Rioja

Varietal: Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano

Appellation: Rioja Gran Reserva

Vintage: 2014

Size: 750ml