Lindes de Remelluri "Viñedos de Labastida" Rioja '18

Telmo Rodríguez is one of Spain's most forward thinking winemakers. Telmo and his sister Amaia returned to their family estate, Remelluri, in 2009, taking over from their father, with the goal of ensuring that Remelluri was a true terroir wine. Lindes de Remelluri is dedicated to expressing the attributes of two of Rioja’s most distinctive wine villages: Labastida and San Vicente de la Sonsierra. Viñedos de Labastida is a selection of 12.78 hectares divided between eight growers and 28 small plots, which express the peculiarities of this municipality, the birthplace of many of the most important wines in the history of Rioja. The vineyards, at altitudes from 450 meters to 780 meters, offer an honest and clear representation of the terroir of the Labastida village wines. Labastida always has a later harvest because of elevation and offers an expressive and aromatic expression of Tempranillo. The cooler, rockier, and higher elevation sites here produce a wine lower in alcohol but higher in acidity and tannins than that of neighboring San Vicente de la Sonsierra.

The 2018 is a blend of Tempranillo with small amounts of Garnacha and Graciano. The wine is fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel, then aged for 12 months in barrels of various sizes and ages. (Background info from the importer De Maison Selections)