#5 on Hi-Time's Top Spanish Wines of 2024
This Rioja gives the traditions of this historic region a fresh look, with more intensity and edge: a scintillating expression of mountain Rioja! Winemaking has taken place around the Remelluri estate since at least the 1300s, though the modern winery here was founded on those remnants in 1967 by the father of today's winemaker and viticulturist siblings, Telmo and Amaia Rodriguez. This bottling focused on old, organically farmed vineyards near the town of Labastida in the high-altitude Alavesa region, which experiences a significantly cooler climate and later harvests.
This is a Rioja with more focus on structure and clarity from the stony, savory-tinged fruit due to shorter aging in oak than the old-school Riojas. By using French oak instead of American, there are woodsy, balsam accents rather than the typical vanilla and toasted coconut of other modern Riojas. As is typical for Rioja Alavesa, the Labastida is driven by Tempranillo and complemented by the expressive Graciano and Garnacha varieties. It's tight-knit, firm, with fine powdery tannins, and subtle aromas reminiscent of crushed limestone, blackberry, licorice, purple flowers and tobacco. This is a flexible wine for hearty dishes and grilled vegetables, just give it time in the glass to open up.
WINE ADVOCATE 94 POINTS - "The Lindes collection comes alternately in Bordeaux and Burgundy bottles, depending on the amount of Garnacha in the wine, with a Burgundian bottle for the wines with more Garnacha. The new 2020 Lindes de Remelluri Viñedos de Labastida is made with grapes from 11 grape growers in the village with different lieux-dits ranging from 440 to 710 meters above sea level, and the final blend was 89% Tempranillo, 6% Graciano and 5% Garnacha. The winemaking and aging were similar for all the wines to highlight the differences from the places, in this case, the character of Labastida, which is more floral and with more finesse than San Vicente, more serious, more delicate but not without clout. This has 14.12% alcohol. This is the largest cuvée with 77,264 bottles. It was bottled in April 2022."
VINOUS 94 POINTS - "Intense and savory, the 2020 Lindes de Remelluri Viñedos de Labastida is a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha and other varieties from vineyards in Labastida, Rioja Alavesa. Aged for 12 months in different sizes of oak vats, this garnet wine offers a balsamic nose with blueberry and blackberry notes over a layer of wild herbs. On the palate, it is dry and luxuriously rich, with chalky, fine-grained tannins lending a velvety texture to the enduring fruity finish. This terroir-driven wine is a testament to the marriage of ancient Rioja style with a modernist commitment to precision." - Joaquin Hidalgo
This Rioja gives the traditions of this historic region a fresh look, with more intensity and edge: a scintillating expression of mountain Rioja! Winemaking has taken place around the Remelluri estate since at least the 1300s, though the modern winery here was founded on those remnants in 1967 by the father of today's winemaker and viticulturist siblings, Telmo and Amaia Rodriguez. This bottling focused on old, organically farmed vineyards near the town of Labastida in the high-altitude Alavesa region, which experiences a significantly cooler climate and later harvests.
This is a Rioja with more focus on structure and clarity from the stony, savory-tinged fruit due to shorter aging in oak than the old-school Riojas. By using French oak instead of American, there are woodsy, balsam accents rather than the typical vanilla and toasted coconut of other modern Riojas. As is typical for Rioja Alavesa, the Labastida is driven by Tempranillo and complemented by the expressive Graciano and Garnacha varieties. It's tight-knit, firm, with fine powdery tannins, and subtle aromas reminiscent of crushed limestone, blackberry, licorice, purple flowers and tobacco. This is a flexible wine for hearty dishes and grilled vegetables, just give it time in the glass to open up.
WINE ADVOCATE 94 POINTS - "The Lindes collection comes alternately in Bordeaux and Burgundy bottles, depending on the amount of Garnacha in the wine, with a Burgundian bottle for the wines with more Garnacha. The new 2020 Lindes de Remelluri Viñedos de Labastida is made with grapes from 11 grape growers in the village with different lieux-dits ranging from 440 to 710 meters above sea level, and the final blend was 89% Tempranillo, 6% Graciano and 5% Garnacha. The winemaking and aging were similar for all the wines to highlight the differences from the places, in this case, the character of Labastida, which is more floral and with more finesse than San Vicente, more serious, more delicate but not without clout. This has 14.12% alcohol. This is the largest cuvée with 77,264 bottles. It was bottled in April 2022."
VINOUS 94 POINTS - "Intense and savory, the 2020 Lindes de Remelluri Viñedos de Labastida is a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha and other varieties from vineyards in Labastida, Rioja Alavesa. Aged for 12 months in different sizes of oak vats, this garnet wine offers a balsamic nose with blueberry and blackberry notes over a layer of wild herbs. On the palate, it is dry and luxuriously rich, with chalky, fine-grained tannins lending a velvety texture to the enduring fruity finish. This terroir-driven wine is a testament to the marriage of ancient Rioja style with a modernist commitment to precision." - Joaquin Hidalgo
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