Spain · Rioja

Remelluri

Remelluri is a high-elevation Rioja estate above Labastida, centred on an estate-grown Reserva of Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano.

The producer

Above Labastida on the south-facing slopes of the Sierra de Toloño, Remelluri farms vineyards between 500 and 950 metres. Jaime Rodríguez Salís re-established the modern winery in 1967; its 1971 release was presented as the first single-vineyard Rioja of the modern era. Today, Telmo Rodríguez and Amaia Rodríguez Hernandorena oversee a property where hand-harvested parcels are vinified separately.

Remelluri Reserva is the central dry red: since 2010, it has used only organically farmed estate fruit. The 2017 blends Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano, fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel and open foudres before 20 months in barrels of different ages and sizes. Expect a full, structured red with fruit, tannin, seasoned-oak texture and the capacity to develop in bottle.

Known for

Estate-grown Rioja Reserva from high-altitude parcels, using native yeasts, separate plot vinification and long ageing in varied barrels.

Notable facts

The story

The fruit that moved to another wine

In 2009, Telmo and Amaia Rodríguez returned to Remelluri and took over the project from their father. One of their first decisions concerned grapes bought from outside growers. Instead of blending that fruit into the estate bottling, they moved it into a separate wine. From the 2010 vintage onward, Remelluri Reserva was made only from organically farmed grapes grown on the property above Labastida, on the slopes of the Sierra de Toloño. The two labels then carried different origins: the separate bottling used purchased fruit, while Reserva held the estate’s own parcels and its traditional Rioja blend.

From the atlas

Remelluri

At A Glance

Remelluri is a Rioja estate above Labastida in Rioja Alavesa, on the slopes of the Sierra de Toloño. Its vineyards sit between 500 and 950 metres on protected south-facing slopes. The central bottle is Remelluri Reserva, an estate-grown red made from traditional Rioja varieties, with the 2017 vintage blending Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano.

The Producer

Remelluri became the first single-vineyard Rioja of the modern era with the release of its 1971 vintage. That decision still describes the estate better than a broad regional label: the property itself, its mountain parcels and its cellar are meant to remain visible in the wine.

The modern winery began in 1967, when Jaime Rodríguez Salís bought the vineyards at the former estate. Today Telmo Rodríguez is the winemaker and Amaia Rodríguez Hernandorena is the viticulturist. Pablo Eguzkiza, Telmo's winemaking partner, trained at Château Petrus and has helped change both vineyard work and cellar equipment. The result is a producer where farming and vinification are handled parcel by parcel, then brought together in the estate bottling.

Place

The vineyards lie in the valleys of Valderemelluri, La Granja and Villaescusa, just above Labastida. The elevation runs from 500 to 950 metres, while south-facing slopes receive protection from prevailing northern winds and frost. Those physical differences give the estate a spread of parcels to harvest separately, so Rioja here arrives as a blend assembled from distinct mountain sites instead of one undivided harvest.

Soil And Site

No soil type is specified for Remelluri's parcels. The useful site clues are altitude, exposure and slope: vines rise high above Labastida, face south and sit beneath the Sierra de Toloño. That setting places the emphasis on elevation and parcel origin, while the cellar keeps those parcels separate long enough for their different fruit and ripeness levels to be handled individually.

Story

Wine was already part of this place in the fourteenth century, when Hieronymite monks tended a monastery, sanctuary and farm near the Sierra de Toloño. Jaime Rodríguez Salís revived the estate as a modern winery in 1967 by purchasing the vineyards at its centre. Four years later, the 1971 release presented Remelluri as a single-vineyard Rioja, putting one property and its harvest inside a category usually read through broader regional blending.

The next generation brought the same property-first idea into the vineyard and cellar. Telmo Rodríguez and Amaia Rodríguez Hernandorena took over in 2009, while the estate moved toward estate-grown Reserva, mixed field plantings and bush-trained Garnacha. The bottle changed as the farming changed: the flagship red became a clearer expression of fruit grown within Remelluri's own boundaries.

Vineyards And Cellar

Remelluri's parcels are harvested by hand and vinified separately. Native yeasts carry the fermentations, and the wines receive little new oak, light filtration and light fining. These choices keep each plot's fruit present through the cellar work instead of covering it with a strong new-wood flavour or heavy processing.

The equipment is varied by design. Foudres, glass demijohns, oak vats and cement tanks are used in different sizes, giving the team several ways to ferment and age separate parcels. In the vineyards, Garnacha is moving from trellises toward bush vines, and mixed field plantings are increasing. Both changes alter how the grapes ripen and how the eventual blend is assembled.

Wines

Remelluri Reserva is the flagship red and the estate bottling to look for when the label's fruit origin matters. Since the 2010 vintage it has been made exclusively from organically farmed grapes grown within the property, blended from traditional Rioja varieties. Reserva 2017 contains Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano, so the bottle combines three grapes within one estate-grown red rather than presenting a single-variety wine.

Reserva 2017 was fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks and open foudres, then aged for 20 months in barrels of different ages and sizes. Stainless steel and foudre keep the fermentation vessels from dictating the wine, while the varied barrels add time and seasoned oak without making new wood the main flavour. The wine is presented as capable of improving over decades in the cellar.

The range also includes a separate wine made from purchased grapes. Lindes de Remelluri Labastida 2021 places Labastida, the nearby village, directly in the bottle name. Read the two categories carefully: Reserva carries fruit from the Remelluri property, while the separate bottling carries grapes sourced from growers.

In The Glass

Reserva 2017 opens as a layered red blend, with Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano arriving before the cellar details. On the palate, native-yeast fermentation and the combination of stainless steel and open foudres keep the fruit at the centre, while 20 months in barrels of different ages and sizes broadens the middle of the wine with seasoned oak. The finish carries the imprint of long élevage rather than a burst of new wood, leaving a red built to develop over decades.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Remelluri Reserva 2017. It is the estate's flagship red, made from organically farmed grapes grown within Remelluri and blended from Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano. Indigenous yeasts, stainless steel tanks and open foudres shape the fermentation, followed by 20 months in barrels of different ages and sizes. The bottle joins the vineyard boundary, the three-grape blend and the cellar method in one place, with enough ageing capacity to follow its changes over time.

Anecdote

In 2009, when Telmo and Amaia Rodríguez returned to Remelluri and took over the project from their father, their first major cellar decision concerned the fruit itself. Grapes bought from outside growers were moved into a separate wine instead of being blended into the estate bottling. From the 2010 vintage, Remelluri Reserva was made exclusively from grapes grown on the property, organically farmed fruit from the vineyards above Labastida and the slopes of the Sierra de Toloño. The change split the labels by origin. The separate bottling carried purchased fruit, while Reserva carried the estate's own parcels and traditional Rioja blend. A change in ownership appeared in the cellar, then on the label, beginning with the 2010 vintage.

Final Word

Remelluri offers two distinct ways to read Rioja. Its Reserva is an estate-grown red from high mountain parcels, while the separate purchased-fruit wine carries a different origin. For the property itself, Reserva 2017 puts the place, grapes and cellar method into one bottle.

Sources

Open Remelluri in the interactive map →