Winemaker Notes
Remelluri Blanco illuminates a path forward for world-class, place-based white Rioja wines capable of improving in bottle, defying the notion that only the red wines deserve the world’s attention or respect. As with all of the wines of Remelluri, the white wine handsomely repays extended cellar aging and patience, and is produced in very small quantities, offered only to the best clients of Remelluri.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Such a precise, flinty nose with seashell, oyster, white sesame, chalk and lime. Textured, broad and long, with bright acidity and a precise, extremely long finish. Serious and gastronomic. A blend of 9 grapes. Drink or hold.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Blanco is a blend of varieties and places and is the first wine that expresses the special character of the Remelluri property. They used different vinification methods (concrete, foudre, barrique, all with indigenous yeasts), and the backbone here is the origin and not the process. It's not a shy white, showing power (14.14% alcohol) and the freshness of the altitude (605 to 805 meters above sea level) with a low pH (3.24). It comes from vines planted between 1989 and 2012 and is worked organically and biodynamically, with cover crops and horses. It has ripeness, notes of pollen and yellow fruit and a touch of smoke and spice, with a very balanced palate and great purity. It follows the path of elegance and freshness of the 2020, but it was a cooler and healthier vintage (in 2020, they had hail twice), and the wine shows more precision and finishes very clean. Pablo Eguzkiza compared it to 2016.
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.