Winemaker Notes
In 2018, Remelluri saw a relatively cool and fresh vintage, with the result being elegant,expressive Atlantic wines, which perfectly suits the long-aging Remelluri Blanco. A cool spring and early summer with abundant rainfall required extensive, vigilant work in the vineyards, highlighting the experience and dedication of the Remelluri team. Late summer turned hot and allowed the grapes to mature quickly. September was cool andclear, with abundant sunshine encouraging phenolic maturity in the final stages of maturation. Grapes were harvested manually in late October.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is a fantastic white with tightness and freshness and such bright acidity. Sliced apple, pear, pineapple and lilac. Full-bodied yet tight and so fresh, Goes on for minutes. Great length. Precise and transparent. From organically grown grapes. Want to drink it now, but it’s one of the cellar.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Blanco has to be the finest white from Remelluri so far. It's powerful, characterful and elegant, with ripeness and concentration coupled with very good freshness. This unusual white was produced with a mélange of grapes, trying to erase the varietal profile; it fermented with indigenous yeasts in tank and small oak vats and matured in used barriques, foudres and concrete. It has Mediterranean notes of hay and straw, but it's powerful and serious, more like an austere Hermitage with a super-chalky palate and a very tasty, almost salty finish. It has great finesse, with power and the freshness from the high-altitude vineyards and the cool year. 13,100 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2020.
With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
Highly regarded for distinctive and age-worthy red wines, Rioja is Spain’s most celebrated wine region. Made up of three different sub-regions of varying elevation: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental. Wines are typically a blend of fruit from all three, although specific sub-region (zonas), village (municipios) and vineyard (viñedo singular) wines can now be labeled. Rioja Alta, at the highest elevation, is considered to be the source of the brightest, most elegant fruit, while grapes from the warmer and drier Rioja Oriental produce wines with deep color and higher alcohol, which can add great body and richness to a blend.
Fresh and fruity Rioja wines labeled, Joven, (meaning young) see minimal aging before release, but more serious Rioja wines undergo multiple years in oak. Crianza and Reserva styles are aged for one year in oak, and Gran Reserva at least two, but in practice this maturation period is often quite a bit longer—up to about fifteen years.
Tempranillo provides the backbone of Rioja red wines, adding complex notes of red and black fruit, leather, toast and tobacco, while Garnacha supplies body. In smaller percentages, Graciano and Mazuelo (Carignan) often serve as “seasoning” with additional flavors and aromas. These same varieties are responsible for flavorful dry rosés.
White wines, typically balancing freshness with complexity, are made mostly from crisp, fresh Viura. Some whites are blends of Viura with aromatic Malvasia, and then barrel fermented and aged to make a more ample, richer style of white.