Wine Advisor
Remirez de Ganuza, Rioja Trasnocho 2012
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Luis Gutiérrez
The dark and opaque, almost black 2012 Trasnocho epitomizes the modern style of concentrated and generously oaked Rioja. However, in a warm and dry year like 2012, the wine feels fresher than the one from the previous year. The fruit is dark, and it has plenty of spices and smoke. The palate is full-bodied, and there are abundant but fine-grained and quite round tannins. There is stuffing and balance for a long and positive development in bottle.
About the Producer
Established in 1989, Bodegas Remírez de Ganuza, sprang from a personal bet made by its founder, Fernando Remírez de Ganuza. A single principle lies behind the entire process: Loyalty to the grape... From the outset the idea has been the same: to ensure a rigorous grape sorting process and then minimal interference in the preparation of the wine. In this way we can be as true as possible both to the vintage and the vineyard. The business originally developed by Fernando in the 1970s and 1980s in Rioja Alavesa, involved the buying and selling of former vineyards. This meant he had the knowledge to select the most suitable plots in the region to carry out his new project. Over the years, new techniques have been introduced for crafting and ageing wines making Remírez de Ganuza both innovative and pioneering producers. Innovation has been a particular feature with new improvements being incorporated regularly to raise the quality of the wines produced. These improvements include sorting tables, cold rooms and the use of new barrels for the ageing of the wines. The innovations may well have been widely adopted by other internationally renowned producers but this was certainly not the case when Remírez de Ganuza first used them. Other procedures like the bag used for the extraction of the Trasnocho wine or the machine used to wash the grapes in their own must are examples of the continuous process of innovation and the search for excellence which are hallmarks of Remírez de Ganuza. The winery is in the centre of Samaniego, Álava. Surrounded by a hamlet of rambling old buildings, the winery comprises modern concrete buildings covered with original old brickwork in keeping with the traditional architecture of the local area. Grouped around a large central courtyard divided by a natural waterway, the buildings making up the winery have their own separate purpose in the various stages of the crafting of the wine: an area for the barrels, cellars, cold rooms and a selection area. The traditional architecture of the winery complete with an interior made of hundred-year-old oak beams contrasts with pioneering and innovative modern methods. The vineyards are made up of more than eighty hectares of tempranillo, viura and malvasía grape. They are spread out over six plots in the Cantabrian mountain range: Samaniego, Leza, Elciego, San Vicente de la Sonsierra, Laguardia and Abalos. In selecting these plots, careful consideration was given to the habitat, microclimate and orientation, as well as the low yield of the vines with an average age of fifty years. This large area comprising the estate allows us to be self-sufficient using only premium quality grape.
