Remelluri, La Granja Nuestra Senora de Remelluri Reserva, Rioja, Spain, 2009

Overview of the Wine
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.

Organic.

Grape / Blend
Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano

Origin
Rioja, Spain

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
Remelluri is one of the world’s most timeless and iconic wine-producing landscapes. Remelluri Reserva is the original wine from Granja Nuestra Señora de Remelluri, sourced from their most important vineyards consisting of 148 plots on 25 sites of the property. Only indigenous varieties are used, planted from 1918 until today, averaging 40 years old. The blend consists primarily of goblet-trained tempranillo, garnacha, and graciano varieties with an average yield of 27hl/ha—organic farming, low intervention, unfiltered, and minimal sulfur at bottling.

This 2009 Reserva is a direct, authentic cellar release of guaranteed provenance, stored under optimal conditions at Remelluri in Labastida, Rioja, until refrigerated shipment to the US in the autumn of 2023. It was selected by Remelluri owner and winemaker Telmo Rodríguez for the exceptional nature of the vintage and beautiful evolution of the wine, offering a fully-cellared Reserva expression from Remelluri to the market. While the 2009 vintage has recently entered into its ideal drinking window, it will undoubtedly repay additional cellar time, offering enjoyment for a decade or more to come. De Maison Selections verifies refrigerated shipping and storage conditions throughout the wine’s journey to local merchants. Proper temperature and shipping conditions are essential factors in the enjoyment of well-cellared wines. The 2009 Remelluri Reserva cellar release is extremely limited in quantity.

2009 is among the top vintages of the decade, along with 2004 and 2005. 2009 Remelluri Reserva features aromas of wild earthy red fruit intermixed with notes of vanilla and cinnamon, and a satiny texture with round, fine-grained tannins in a classical and very well-structured style. This is a great vintage for Remelluri Reserva that is drinking well now, yet will age gracefully for another decade or more. The growth cycle ran around 10 days earlier than previous years, starting with flowering in May/June. High summer temperatures provided good alcoholic maturity, with phenolic ripeness occurring much later into September and October. Low rainfall in the summer months reduced quantity and concentrated the grape skin-to-juice ratio, resulting in a powerful red wine with good aging potential. Hydric stress was lessened by rainfall on 16-18 September, which helped balance the phenolic and alcoholic maturity of the grapes. From this point onwards, the weather conditions were sunny and dry until the end of the harvest, allowing the grapes to reach perfect maturity with little incidence of vineyard diseases.

93 Points - Falstaff

92 Points - Wine Enthusiast
Immediately this smells complete and lusty: aromas of lemon peel, berry fruits, vanilla and char are attractive. In the mouth, this feels robust but blocky and tannic. Flavors of plum and blueberry are peppery and moderately complex, while this is drawing, dry and tannic on the finish. Drink through 2022.

Product size: 750ml