Spanish Vacation: Remirez de Ganuza Winery

Day Five continues...

After my visit to Finca Valpiedra, we traveled to another winery, Bodegas Fernando Remirez de Ganuza. I was especially excited to visit this winery. Their 1998 Reserva had been my first higher-end Spanish wine and it had wowed me. It was a phenomenal wine with such an incredible, complex taste. That wine showed me the potential of Spanish wines, how excellent they could be. It became a catalyst to me. It set me on a path to explore the entire range of Spanish wines, from all different regions and all different varietals. So, this winery occupies a special place in my heart.

Bodegas Fernando Remirez de Ganuza, founded in 1989, is located in the village of Samaniego in the Rioja Alavesa region. The vineyard occupies about 57 hectares and is planted with about 90% Tempranillo, 8% Graciano and 2% Garnacha. The average age of the vines is sixty years, though some of the oldest vines are over 90 years old.

Fernando Remirez de Ganuza, the vineyard owner, is a perfectionist. His philosophy is that "Exceptional quality can only be achieved through a strict selection of grapes." Thus, the grapes are hand picked. They then must pass through three check points. On the final checkpoint, the bunches are divided into two parts, the shoulders and the feet. The shoulders, the top part of the bunch, are considered the best grapes. The feet are not used in the Reserva and better wines. This philosophy has served them well as their wines are excellent.

Fermenation occurs in small stainless steel tanks and later the malolactic fermentation continues in oak vats. Later, the wines will be aged in American and French oak, which you can see below.

Wines will eventually get some bottle aging, in the room you see below.

Luiz Alberto Martinez conducted our private tour of the winery and he was very informative and personable. As we tasted some of their wines, we had a very enjoyable conversation about the winery and wine in general. It was very pleasurable spending time there.

The winery makes two inexpensive wines which are mainly sold domestically in Spain. These include the Erre Punto R, a red wine, and the Erre Punto R Blanco, a white wine. I did not taste these wines. They are not available in the U.S. and I wanted to taste their better wines.

Luiz brought us some food to accompany our wine tasting. And we began to explore their wines. These wines are all predominantly Tempranillo with a tiny bit of Graciano and maybe Mazuelo.

We started with the 2001 Finca de Ganuza Reserva. This wine is just now becoming available in the U.S. though I have yet to see it in any of the wine stores I frequent. It sells for about half the price of their "yellow label" Reserva, so probably around $30-35. This wine has a fruity nose, a lush berry flavor. On the palate, those bright berries fill your mouth and are seasoned with a bit of spice. It has a decently long finish and is very smooth to drink. The tannins are mild and there is a bit of complexity to the taste. It is a very enjoyable wine, likely to please most people. This wine makes an excellent entry wine to the rest of the Remirez portfolio. When this arrives in the wine stores, it is definitely a wine to seek out. It is very approachable and is definitely worth the price.

The next step up is their 2003 Remirez de Ganuza Reserva which has the distinctive yellow label. The color is striking and does draw your eye to the label. This is also their wine which is most readily available at local wine stores. It usually sells for about $65-$75 and the price has increased very little within the last five years. This wine also usually receives high scores from the major wine media. The wine has a good ruby color, with a little bit of translucency. On the nose, the spices notes predominate, especially a bit of cinnamon. On the palate, the dark lush berries mesh with the spicy notes. This is a complex wine, with many different flavors vying for your attention though everything is well balanced. It is a silky smooth wine with a lingering and very satisfying finish. It is more bold than subtle. With more aging, it will mellow some. This is an exceptional wine and well worth the price. In any other country, this wine might sell for over $100. I highly recommend this wine for any wine aficiando. You won't regret the purchase.

The winery does make a Gran Reserva in excellent vintage years. While there, I purchased a few bottles of their 1995 Gran Reserva and I can't wait to taste them! These are rarely, if ever, available in local wine stores.

The final wine of the tasting was the 2004 Trasnocho which is not yet available in the U.S. but which might be in a year or so. This is their top of the line wine. The grapes for this wine are pressed in a special way. A special membrane bag is filled with water and that bag is then placed over night into the tanks above the grapes. The soft pressure this exerts upon the grapes creates the juice used for the Trasnocho. The wine spends about two years in French oak and four months in the bottle. The wine has a good ruby color, with a little bit of translucency. It began with a mild nose but opened up over time so this is a wine you should decant. As it opened up, you could smell more fruit flavors. On the palate, you get more fruit though it is subtler, very Old World in style. It reminds me in some ways of a good Bordeaux. It is definitely a complex wine that benefits from consideration, to savoring its multitude of flavors. It has a very long finish. This is another exceptional wine and well worth the price. I highly recommend this wine for any wine aficiando. I bought a few bottles of this wine.

How do the Reserva and the Trasnocho compare? I found the Reserva to be a bit bolder and with more spice notes. The Trasnocho is a more subtle wine, with fruit flavors predominating over the spice. Both are exceptional wines and they will age well. What an excellent tasting and tour of a special winery.

Luiz also mentioned that they may visit the U.S. in the near future. If so, I do hope they stop some place local. If so, I highly recommend you go to any tasting they hold and enjoy their fine wines. If I learn any more about it, I will post on it as well.