Granja Nuestra Señora de Remelluri

The Remelluri site has been planted to vines since at least the 14th century, when Hieronymite monks established a granja (a working monastic farm) on the Sierra de Toloño slopes above the village of Labastida. The granary buildings have stood for centuries and form the core of today's winery. After religious orders dissolved in 19th-century Spain and the property was subdivided, the granja fell into disuse. Jaime Rodríguez Salís, a writer and archaeologist from Irún, purchased the abandoned property in 1967 with his wife Amaia Hernandoarena and began the multi-decade work of restoring the buildings and replanting the high-altitude terraces. Remelluri's 1971 release was among Rioja's first modern-era single-estate bottlings, working only with fruit from the estate's own vineyards at a time when nearly every Rioja bodega blended fruit purchased from multiple growers. Contino, founded 1973 by CVNE, followed close behind, with the two estates establishing the single-estate model in Rioja decades before the 2017 reform formally recognised single-vineyard and single-estate classifications.

• 14th-century Hieronymite granja (working monastic farm) on the Sierra de Toloño slopes above Labastida; granary buildings still form the core of the winery
• Jaime Rodríguez Salís and his wife Amaia Hernandoarena purchased the abandoned property in 1967 and restored the buildings and high-altitude terraces over decades
• 1971 release was among Rioja's first modern-era single-estate bottlings, working only with fruit from the estate's own vineyards
• Established alongside Contino (1973, CVNE) as the first generation of modern single-estate Rioja producers

Remelluri's estate property covers around 150 hectares with about 100 hectares under vine, spread across more than 80 individual plots that climb the south-facing Sierra de Toloño slopes from about 500 metres at the lower terraces to 950 metres at the highest plots. The Sierra de Toloño shields Rioja Alavesa from the wettest Atlantic air, while gaps in the range allow oceanic influence through, keeping the climate cool and slow-ripening relative to lower-altitude parts of Rioja. The vineyards sit across the valleys of Valderemelluri, La Granja, and Villaescusa above Labastida, with soils dominated by calcareous clay-limestone and limestone outcrops. The estate's whites come from a single high-elevation parcel where an old-vine field blend of multiple white varieties (Viura, Garnacha Blanca, Malvasía, Chardonnay, and minor proportions of Sauvignon Blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne, Petit Manseng, and Moscatel) is bottled as Remelluri Blanco. Vines on the estate include very old plantings that contribute to the high-altitude character of the wines.

• Around 150 hectares of estate property with about 100 hectares under vine across more than 80 plots on the Sierra de Toloño slopes from 500 to 950 metres
• Vineyards spread across the valleys of Valderemelluri, La Granja, and Villaescusa above Labastida; soils dominated by calcareous clay-limestone and limestone outcrops
• Sierra de Toloño shields the estate from the wettest Atlantic air while gaps in the range allow cool oceanic influence to keep ripening slow
• Remelluri Blanco draws from a single high-elevation field-blend parcel planted to Viura, Garnacha Blanca, Malvasía, Chardonnay, and minor proportions of Sauvignon Blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne, Petit Manseng, and Moscatel

In 2009, Telmo Rodríguez and his sister Amaia Rodríguez Hernandorena returned to the family winery upon their father's retirement. Telmo had founded Compañía de Vinos Telmo Rodríguez in the mid-1990s with his Bordeaux classmate Pablo Eguzkiza, building it into Spain's leading terroir-focused village-wine project with bottlings from Rioja, Toro, Galicia, Málaga, and Valdeorras well before the 2017 Rioja reform's Vino de Pueblo designation existed. Amaia, who holds a PhD in cultural anthropology, leads viticulture at the estate. On returning to Remelluri, Telmo brought Pablo Eguzkiza (trained at Château Petrus) back into the winemaking direction, secured organic certification in 2014, and refined the estate's portfolio. The pair launched the Lindes de Remelluri village wines from the 2010 vintage, expanded the range to include the Yjar single-vineyard project, and reshaped Remelluri Blanco around the single high-elevation field-blend parcel.

• Telmo Rodríguez and his sister Amaia Rodríguez Hernandorena returned to the family winery in 2009 upon their father Jaime Rodríguez Salís's retirement
• Telmo's winemaking partner at Remelluri is Pablo Eguzkiza, trained at Château Petrus and his Compañía de Vinos co-founder since the mid-1990s
• Organic certification on the estate since 2014; biodynamic practices applied selectively; native-yeast fermentation; reduced new oak in favour of foudres and used barrels
• Lindes de Remelluri Viñedos de Labastida and Viñedos de San Vicente first released from the 2010 vintage; among the first Rioja bottlings to carry village names on the label

Remelluri Reserva is the estate's flagship: a Tempranillo-led blend with Garnacha, Graciano, and Mazuelo from goblet-trained estate vines, aged in foudres and used French oak for around 21 months followed by extended bottle aging before release. The Remelluri Gran Reserva is released only in exceptional vintages and varies in blend by vintage, with the 2012 bottling at approximately 68% Tempranillo, 22% Garnacha, 8% Graciano, and 2% others, and the 1999 at approximately 86% Tempranillo, 12% Garnacha, and 2% Graciano; the wine is certified organic, unfiltered, and built for graceful decade-plus evolution. Remelluri Blanco draws from the single high-elevation field-blend parcel and is one of Spain's most coveted whites in tightly restricted allocation. Yjar, launched under Telmo and Pablo's new era, is a single-vineyard field-blend of Tempranillo, Graciano, Garnacha, Gran Negro, and Rojal that sets the path to excellence in the estate's modern Grand Cru work. The Lindes de Remelluri series (Viñedos de Labastida and Viñedos de San Vicente, first released 2010) draws on grower partnerships across the two villages on either side of the Ebro, vinified and labelled at village granularity years before the 2017 reform formally recognised the Vino de Pueblo designation.

• Remelluri Reserva: Tempranillo-led blend with Garnacha, Graciano, and Mazuelo; around 21 months in foudres and used French oak plus extended bottle aging; the estate's flagship
• Remelluri Gran Reserva: blend varies by vintage (2012 approximately 68% Tempranillo, 22% Garnacha, 8% Graciano, 2% others; 1999 approximately 86% Tempranillo, 12% Garnacha, 2% Graciano); released only in exceptional years; certified organic, unfiltered
• Remelluri Blanco: single high-elevation field-blend parcel of multiple white varieties; one of Spain's most coveted whites in restricted allocation
• Yjar (single-vineyard field-blend of Tempranillo, Graciano, Garnacha, Gran Negro, and Rojal) and Lindes de Remelluri Viñedos de Labastida and Viñedos de San Vicente (first vintage 2010) anchor the modern range

Remelluri occupies a unique position in modern Rioja: a single-estate pioneer rebuilt in 1967 by Jaime Rodríguez Salís, then transformed in 2009 when Telmo and Amaia Rodríguez Hernandorena returned to the family winery on their father's retirement. Telmo had spent the previous decade and a half building Compañía de Vinos Telmo Rodríguez with Pablo Eguzkiza into Spain's leading terroir-focused village-wine project, demonstrating that single-village and single-vineyard bottlings could succeed commercially across Rioja, Toro, Galicia, Málaga, and Valdeorras. On returning to Remelluri, the pair anchored the classical Reserva and Gran Reserva alongside the boundary-pushing Blanco, the modern Grand Cru Yjar, and the Lindes de Remelluri village wines that preceded the 2017 reform's Vino de Pueblo designation. The high-altitude Sierra de Toloño vineyards consistently produce some of Rioja's most structured Tempranillo and most aromatic whites, and the 14th-century granary buildings give visitors a tangible link to the centuries-deep viticulture of the Sonsierra slopes.

• Single-estate pioneer rebuilt in 1967 by Jaime Rodríguez Salís alongside Contino (1973) as the first generation of Rioja single-estate wineries
• Telmo Rodríguez and Amaia Rodríguez Hernandorena returned to the family winery in 2009 upon their father's retirement; Pablo Eguzkiza leads the winemaking direction
• Compañía de Vinos Telmo Rodríguez (founded mid-1990s by Telmo and Pablo) demonstrated that single-village and single-vineyard work could succeed across Rioja, Toro, Galicia, Málaga, and Valdeorras
• Lindes de Remelluri village wines (first vintage 2010) preceded the 2017 Vino de Pueblo designation; estate vineyards at 500 to 950 metres produce some of Rioja's most structured Tempranillo and aromatic whites