Gran Reserva 2013

A Rioja that was given its time: dry, 14.5% Vol., mature and dense, without losing its freshness. Fernando Remírez de Ganuza founded the estate in 1989 in Samaniego, after twenty years as a vineyard broker, during which he came to know every plot and every nuance of microclimate in the region. This wine shows where that knowledge leads.

The estate farms 76 hectares across nine municipalities, divided into 246 individual plots. 70% of the vines are over 70 years old, some over a hundred. The largest single vineyard, Viña Coqueta at 11 hectares, provides the heart of the Gran Reserva. The limestone soils of Rioja Alavesa give the wines their minerality.

Tempranillo forms the backbone, Graciano brings freshness and floral notes. For the Gran Reserva, only the "Hombros" are used, the more sun-exposed shoulders of the bunches, which ripen more intensely; sorting takes place on the mechanical sorting table that Fernando Remírez de Ganuza was the first to introduce in Spain in 1989. In the Transnocho pressing, the grapes drain slowly overnight, for maximum extraction with minimal oxidation. Before release, the wine aged for at least five years, two of them in barrique.

Full-bodied and composed, with ripe plum and red cherry, underscored by tobacco, leather and cedarwood. The tannins are silkily integrated, spicy oak notes and balsamic hints carry far, and fine acidity sustains the long finish.

Grilled rack of lamb, braised beef cheeks, Iberian ham, aged Manchego as well as game and mushroom dishes.

Since 2019, José Ramón Urtasun has run the estate as sole owner, alongside cellar master Jesús Mendoza, with the estate since 1994 and head winemaker since 2001. Mendoza was named best Rioja winemaker in both 2024 and 2025.