Reserva 2017

A Rioja with density that never tips into heaviness: dark cherry, plum and cedarwood over fine-grained tannin. The 14.5% vol. stays well integrated, with the wine's stature coming from the fruit rather than the alcohol.

The vines are rooted in the limestone soils of Rioja Alavesa, which give the wine its mineral vein. Remírez de Ganuza farms 76 hectares across nine municipalities, divided into 246 individual parcels; 70 percent of the vines are over 70 years old, with some over a hundred. Fernando Remírez de Ganuza spent twenty years as a vineyard broker in Rioja and knew every great site before founding his own estate in Samaniego in 1989. Since 2019 José Ramón Urtasun has run the winery, with Jesús Mendoza as head winemaker, named best Rioja winemaker in 2024 and 2025.

Tempranillo provides the fruit and structure, Graciano brings spice and acid tension. Selection is key: the estate separates the sun-exposed shoulders of the grape bunches, the hombros, from the tips, the puntas, reserving the shoulders for its more mature wines. This is why, in 1989, Spain's first mechanical sorting table was built.

Dry and concentrated, with juicy blackberry and black cherry, alongside vanilla and black pepper. The tannin is firm yet fine, the finish long and spicy with a chalky echo.

Rack of lamb, braised beef cheek and duck confit, or served cold with Jamón Ibérico and Manchego. Equally good with hearty Basque stews and mushroom dishes.

The attention to detail extends to the "Transnocho" pressing, in which the grapes are pressed slowly overnight: maximum extraction with minimal oxidation.