Lindes de Remelluri, Viñedos de San Vicente

If you thought French wine labels were long, Spain has a contender. Remelluri Lindes de Remelluri Viñedos de San Vicente de la Sonsierra comes from the historic Granja Nuestra Señora de Remelluri estate in Rioja Alavesa, where monks were cultivating grains and vines as far back as the 14th century. Even the name reaches deeper into the past – in the 10th century Count Erramel founded a settlement here, Erramel-Uri, which over centuries became Remelluri. Today, the ruins of the Monastery of Toloño still stand over terraced amphitheatres of vines planted on steep slopes and shielded from the weather by the Sierra de Toloño mountains.

This wine is drawn from 36 tiny plots, almost 14 hectares in total, farmed by 11 growers around the village of San Vicente. The vineyards are a patchwork of soils: sandy alluvial terraces down by the Ebro River, and rocky sandstone and loam higher up, rising to almost 700 metres. The Atlantic influence brings cool nights, warm days and plentiful rainfall – conditions that produce freshness, vibrant acidity and slow, even ripening. Founded in 1967 by Jaime Rodríguez Salís and now run by his children Telmo and Amaia, the estate has been key in reviving Rioja’s focus on single-vineyard wines; the first of the modern era was bottled here in 1971.

Native yeasts start fermentation gently in stainless steel before the wine rests for 12 months in French oak barrels of various sizes and ages. The resulting wine is open and aromatic, with notes of dark cherry and blackberry alongside hints of wild herbs, earth and subtle spice. On the palate, it is fresh and lively with polished tannins and a clean, savoury finish. It’s an accessible expression of the San Vicente vineyards, full of history yet bright with modern precision. As Telmo Rodríguez himself says: “The future lies in the past.”