A fourth-generation Rioja family winery working small unirrigated plots by hand and producing Crianza and Reserva.
The producer
The fourth generation now controls the family winery. Its vineyards are small, unirrigated plots worked with manual pruning and harvest. The 2020 Crianza is structured and spicy, with vanilla, coffee and balanced oak. Within the wider range, Reserva uses selected wines from strong vintages and ages for at least three years, including at least one year in cask.
Known for
Manual vineyard work and cask ageing
Notable facts
The winery is controlled by the family's fourth generation.
Its small, unirrigated vineyard plots are pruned and harvested manually.
The 2020 Crianza has vanilla, coffee, spice, structure and balanced oak.
Reserva ages for at least three years, including at least one year in cask.
From the atlas
Ramírez de la Piscina
At A Glance
Country
Spain
Region
Rioja
Area
Sonsierra
Named wines
Ramírez de la Piscina Crianza, Ramírez de la Piscina Reserva
Range styles
Red, rosé and white
The Producer
By 1945, Julio Ramírez de la Piscina was cultivating his family's vineyards in the Sonsierra and making traditional Rioja wines, continuing the work of his parents in Ábalos. Bodegas Ramirez was founded in 1973 and began selling bottled wine under that name.
The producer entered international markets in 1990, including the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan. A new winery with modern facilities and updated technology followed in 2001. The family remains in control through its fourth generation.
The vineyards are small, unirrigated plots, with pruning and harvest carried out manually. In the cellar, inherited family techniques are combined with methods introduced by the newer generation.
Place
The wines come from the Sonsierra, where Atlantic and Mediterranean influences meet. The area has alluvial and clay-limestone soils and is sheltered by the Sierra de Cantabria.
Wines
The range covers young carbonic-maceration reds, rosé, white, Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva and Selección. Young wines retain primary freshness and fruit, while Crianza adds at least a year in cask and further bottle ageing. Reserva uses selected wines from strong vintages and ages for at least three years, including at least one year in cask.
Ramírez de la Piscina Crianza 2020 is entirely hand-picked Tempranillo. It spends 15 months in 225-litre American and French oak barrels in underground cellars, followed by five months of natural fining and settling before filtration and bottling. Red-fruit aromas meet spicy wood. The palate is structured and spicy, with vanilla, coffee and balanced oak, followed by a long finish.