Remelluri
Our first stop to taste wine in the Rioja region was at a winery called
Remelluri, in the Rioja Alavesa and nestled against the Sierra Cantabria. Wine has been grown on the property for centuries. The grounds are at the foot of a high, rugged ridge and look out over a broad valley. In earlier times, there was a monastery at the top of the ridge, and it's still possible to see the winding foot path that leads to the top. But this trip was about the wine.
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| View from the Remelluri vineyards |
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| Remelluri winery |
After a self-guided 30-minute walking tour through the vineyards, we were taken by our hostess to the wine tasting room, which had a fire roaring in a large hearth.
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| Remelluri Tasting Room |
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| Most important - the wines! |
She first poured a Riserva 2008 and then a Gran Riserva 1999, which was a real treat. Remelluri is most famous for its whites, which are hard to find even in Spain and none were available for tasting. But, we got lucky and on our second visit to
Etxebarri we ordered one of the few Remelluri whites they had -- an excellent wine!
The Eguren Family Wineries
The next day we experienced what we all thought was the greatest wine tasting ever - at the San Vicente winery, which is one of the
Eguren Family Wineries.
We met our hostess at Viñedos de Páganos, near the village of Laguardia. This winery sits atop a huge underground cellar carved into the rock. We were guided through the aisles in the wine caves and past countless oak barrels, then out to the vineyards known as El Puntido and La Nieta.
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| View from Viñedos de Páganos |
After Viñedos de Páganos, we followed our hostess several miles by car to the winery of Señorío de San Vicente. This winery is located in the village of San Vicente de la Sonsierra. We entered what was a house, now converted to a winery. Up a flight of stairs was a large room with a huge round table, which was set up for our tasting. We tasted eight separate wines produced by the Eguren family wineries: San Vicente 2008; El Puntido 2008; La Nieta 2009; Amancio 2008; Victorino 2009; Alabaster 2008; Alabaster 2009; and El Bosque 2008. All of these wines were good, and a few were outstanding, with La Nieta and Alabaster 2009 being the two top favorites. And the tasting included a magnum of either San Vicente or El Puntido -- all in all a great deal for the €40 wine tasting fee.
