Lindes de Remelluri Viñedos de San Vicente de la Sonsierra 2020
Lindes de Remelluri Viñedos de San Vicente de la Sonsierra 2020
Lindes de Remelluri (Borders of Remelluri) is the result of a visionary and broadly representative social initiative at Remelluri to emphasize the identity and prestige of the village-specific wines of Rioja. Lindes de Remelluri is a social and economic project rooted in collaboration with trusted grower-partners from villages near the Granja Remelluri property with the goal of improving their surroundings and communities by encouraging consumers to ask one question: Where does your Rioja wine come from?
With Lindes de Remelluri, Telmo Rodríguez seeks to evolve the dialogue regarding the future of the Rioja region from one of aging methods, grape varieties, and blends (wines made in the cellar) to a conversation focused on villages, sites, terroir, and responsible economic and ecological vineyard stewardship (wines made in the vineyard). The growers for Lindes utilize ancestral farming techniques, which include organic, biodynamic, and regenerative vineyard practices.
One of the most important Rioja villages, San Vicente de la Sonsierra, is located on the left bank of the Ebro River, 11km from Haro in the foothills of Sonsierra hills, which is part of the Rioja Alta subzone. San Vicente is located on a hill overlooking the Ebro Valley and is surrounded by vineyards and the ruins of the San Vicente castle, established in the 10th century as a fortress for the people of the Kingdom of Navarre. This region has considerable elevation change from north to south, with the Toloño mountain range at over 1000m, descending to 500m in the Ebro Valley. San Vicente and Ábalos are the only towns in La Rioja on the left bank of the Ebro River. However, they have more in common in style, geography, and geologic composition with Rioja Alavesa.
Viñedos de San Vicente de la Sonsierra is a selection of 36 vineyard plots occupying a total of 14.2 ha, worked by 11 winegrowers, expressing a variety of soils and orientations ranging from the sandy terrains of the Quaternary Period alongside the Ebro River at 425m, to the poorer, rocky soils, consisting of sandstone and loam from the Tertiary period, rising to as high as 695m. San Vicente is defined by the generous hillside landscapes that offer a wine with a broad and silky texture, which envelops a defined, fresh structure and excellent balance.
Vinification – In the cellar, rather than using winemaking and technique to transform the wines, they aim for consistency across the range to guide each expression to reach the full potential of the place. Telmo describes the Lindes winemaking as a “winery in the back, village in the front.” Grapes for Lindes are hand-harvested in small crates and spontaneously fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel. The wine undergoes spontaneous malolactic fermentation and is aged 12 months in oak barrels of various provenance, size, and age.