Telmo Rodriquez

Telmo Rodríguez grew up in Rioja, studied in Bordeaux, and then spent decades travelling around Spain in search of old vineyards that everyone had long since forgotten. His company, Compañía de Vinos Telmo Rodríguez, now manages 80 hectares, divided into 355 small plots, where 43 different grape varieties are grown. It is one of the most unusual wine projects in Europe.

History

The Telmo family owns Remelluri, one of Rioja’s historic estates. After studying viticulture and oenology at the University of Bordeaux and working at leading French estates, he returned to manage Remelluri. But his ambitions did not stop there. In 1994, he joined forces with his friend Pablo Egusquiza and founded a company in the village of Sada, Navarre. From the outset, the concept was clear: to find the best old vineyards in Spain, revive them and produce wines that accurately reflect their place of origin. Between 1994 and 1998, they travelled around Spain region by region, identifying abandoned or underrated plots.

They established their headquarters in Lancersgo, in Rioja-Alavesa. In 2015 and 2021, their flagship wine, Las Beatas, received a perfect score of 100 from Robert Parker.

Vineyards and terroir

The company operates in nine different wine-growing regions: Rioja, Rueda, Toro, Ribera del Duero, Málaga, Bierzo, Valdeorras, Arribes del Duero and Alicante.

Each region has its own distinctive soils and climate. In Rioja Alavesa, the Las Beatas vineyard in Labastide covers an area of less than 2 hectares; 19th-century methods are used here, and the fields are planted with a mix of ancient varieties. In Valdeorras, Galicia, the vineyards are situated on terraced slopes with a dizzying gradient. In the mountains of Málaga, the focus is on the ancient high-altitude Muscat variety.

All vines are grown using the traditional Spanish bush-trained method. Several vineyards are cultivated using biodynamic farming methods, without the use of chemical fertilisers or pesticides.

Grape varieties

The range features 43 different varieties. Key varieties include Tempranillo and Garnacha in Rioja, Verdejo in Rueda, Juan García in Arribes del Duero, Tinta de Toro in Toro, Mencía in El Bierzo, Godello and local varieties grown in mixed vineyards in Valdeorras, Monastrell in Alicante and Muscat in Málaga. Only varieties traditional to each region are used.

Winemaking

Intervention in the cellar is minimal. Local yeasts are used throughout for fermentation. The use of oak is adapted to each wine and region. The aim is always transparency: to create wines that taste of their vineyard, not the cellar.

Production ranges from tiny batches of fewer than 1,500 bottles for Las Beatas to larger volumes for the more accessible Basa Verdejo and Lanzaga Rioja.

Wines

The range is divided into three tiers.

At the entry level, everyday wines such as Basa Verdejo and Lanzaga Rioja offer a direct and honest expression of their regions at affordable prices.

The mid-range includes single-vineyard wines, such as El Transistor Verdejo from old vines grown in bush-trained style in Rueda, and the Valdeorras range, including O Diviso and As Caborcas from north-facing slate terraces.

At the top of the range is Las Beatas, a Rioja made from a blend of ancient varieties from the Labastida vineyard, the estate’s rarest and most celebrated wine, produced in a run of fewer than 1,500 bottles per vintage.