Fernando Remirez was one of Rioja's top vineyard estate agents, so he was well placed when he decided to buy some prime Alavesan plots. The state of the art Bodega is located in the pretty village of Samaniego with most of the 50 hectares in the surrounding area. The attention to detail here is more intense than at any other producer we have visited. For the Reserva, only the ripest and healthiest grapes are used. In fact harvesting of one vine can happen two or three times as they wait for full phenolic maturity for all the grapes. There is then another three separate selections on the custom made selection tables. The vinification of the red takes place in small conical stainless steel tanks, which are again custom-made. Ageing then takes place in the finest French (80%) and American (20%) barrels for 27 months. The Erre Punto is a modern style barrel fermented white, which is all about purity and balance.

Visit their website: www.remirezdeganuza.com