In a peaceful, silent setting near to the Sierra de Cantabria, interrupted occasionally by the blast of a hunter’s horn, we find the Remelluri winery and vineyards. This was the forerunner of the classic Rioja wine estate which nowadays seems so familiar to us. |
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It was just three decades ago that Jaime Rodriguez Salis, an entrepreneur from outside the wine business fell in love with this part of the Spanish countryside and purchased the estate known as La Granja Nuestra Senora originally the home to the Monastery of Tolono. The Jeronimo monks cultivated grape vines and at the end of the eighteenth century the estate was in the care of Manuel Quintano, a cleric who introduced some of the wine making methods from the Medoc in Bordeaux, significantly, the use of wooden casks to mature red wines, a process unknown in the area at that time. Senor Salis with his wife Amaya, a renown artist, patiently and with immense dedication, rebuilt the estate installing a winery on the site of the original monastery buildings, at the same time starting the lengthy task of replanting the vineyards. It is easy to dream, as Jaime did, of making a completely revolutionary wine estate from the basic unchangeable ingredients of soil and climate. Its location at 600 to 800 metres altitude is about at the far extreme of viticulture, for this region, but this factor results in slower ripening of the grapes as it is cooler and each vintage, affected by the weather on the mountain side, has ups and downs making for exceptional wines in certain years. Somewhat similar to the experience in Bordeaux. Breaking with the traditional wine making methods of Rioja, where wines from different areas and vineyards were blended together each year, Jaime was driven by the idea that his wine would emerge from the produce of a single property giving him total control of the final liquid from grape vine to bottle. And how right he turned out to be. In spite of the similarities with Bordeaux, currently Remelluri uses methods closer to those of Burgundy. The winery is a model of cleanliness and efficiency and has revived the use of the large conical vat. Special attention is given not just to grape ripeness but to grape pips which, if green, can leave a bitter legacy. |
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In another novel touch, the floating cap of grape skins is plunged into the wine must using a wooden paddle. This procedure (pigeage) is unheard of elsewhere in Rioja, lends smoothness to the tannins and allows greater extraction leading to a better structured wine and avoids the aggressive stance taken by very young wines. The aging casks are French oak employing naturally cured wood and due to their superior quality cost double the price of Spanish barrels made from American Oak. Whenever decisions are to made about the winemaking process the costs are not primarily the issue, rather the eventual result of a fine wine made and matured in the best fashion. The philosophy of the winery is to give the wine as much cask aging as that particular vintage requires. So the quality of the harvest year by year is the key factor rather than the time spent in barrel. Naturally, these working rules prohibit extensive volume production and an average year will see 500,000 to 600,000 bottles safely in the cellar. One third of these will eventually be exported across the globe where Remelluri's reputation is second to none. The present generation, Jaime's son Telmo carries on the tradition of innovation and has studied the best examples of European wine making, adapting as fits to the unique terroir and climate of this part of Rioja. Always the aim is to exceed the normal expectation of wines of the region and by selective harvesting, careful winemaking and the use of the best oak casks available to achive the pinnacle of single estate fine wine with an elegant bouquet, sought after aromas and mellowness ending in a truly long finish. Tasting notes: Reserva 2000: Full and robust multi-layered expression of wild strawberries and black berries mixed with smoky vanilla. Gran Reserva 1998: Wonderfully complex and deep tatsing wine that has developed subtle nuances over the years in cask. Blanco 2005: A blend of some local and international varietals with freshness and green acidity underlying the perfumed fruit nose. |
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