Granja Remelluri

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. While firmly anchored in its historical past, Remelluri illuminates the path forward for not only the future of Rioja but also world-class, terroir-based fine wines produced across Spain. It is about rediscovering the essence of Rioja, and the story’s evolution is genuinely cinematic in scope. At Remelluri, the future lies in the past.

“Recovering regions, protecting traditions, head-pruning vines, helping those who are starting out. That’s what I’m talking about. Everything we’re doing is restoring; we’re not trying to invent anything new. In fact, our motto is: The Future Lies in the Past.” – Telmo Rodríguez

The estate’s origins date 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. The earliest written evidence of wine production dates from the Laguardia village tax records of 1596, noting Remelluri’s contribution. The monks later abandoned the area, but local hermits continued to maintain the shrine while the Real Divisa, a local community organization, maintained the farms to accommodate the needs of pilgrims who came to pray at the sanctuary. The estate was eventually split up and sold in the nineteenth century, as were many properties belonging to religious orders throughout Spain.

Remelluri’s vineyards are located along the slopes of the Sierra de Toloño mountains in the valleys of Valderemelluri, La Granja, and Villaescusa, just above the village of Labastida in Rioja Alavesa. The vineyards here are at the highest elevation in the Rioja region with vines planted between 500 and 950 meters, south-facing, and protected from the prevailing northern winds and frost. The estate consists of more than 80 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. It is worth noting that the Atlantic influence of the Bay of Biscay lies only an hour and a half by car from Remelluri, as evidenced by Telmo’s frequent surfing trips with his filmmaker brother Sanxo to Spain’s top destination for big waves. This ideal location is why generations of inhabitants have sought shelter and farmed the site for centuries.

It is this unique microclimate that gives the wines of Remelluri their distinct personality and character. These are mountain wines that express themselves very differently from the typical Rioja wines of the plains below. The grapes at Remelluri, grown in the foothills of the Toloño mountains, are almost always the last to be harvested in Rioja; it is common for the vintage to last well into October or November. Poor, stony soils, with layers of calcareous clay, give considerable structure for aging. At the same time, the Atlantic influence provides abundant rainfall and much lower temperatures than in the rest of the region, lending incredible acidity and freshness. The fluctuation of cool nights and warm days offers the ideal conditions for proper, long phenolic ripening of the grapes, resulting in Remelluri’s hallmark complex and nuanced aromatics.

The high-altitude wines from these vineyards have more in common with the great nebbiolo-based mountain wines of Italy than the fruity garnachas of southeastern, Mediterranean-influenced Rioja. They are also naturally built to age gracefully for decades, similarly to their Italian counterparts.

Remelluri is pure mountain Rioja.