Today the light has gone out for one of those national wine revolutionaries called Fernando Remírez de Ganuza. Who has not drunk a bottle of their Reserve in the last two decades? The native of Navarre, Meano, has always understood the importance of the countryside that he loved, and which he knew like the back of his hand. Fernando has been a reference for everyone who has wanted to make a deal in La Rioja, with that close charisma that has made him an eternal friend of his friends. And we are not few.
Its ineffable contribution to the finest and most evolved red Rioja, in tune with contemporary taste, is essential to knowing and drinking our most international wine. Bonhomie as a flag. In Samaniego, the heart of the Rioja Alavesa, he set up a winery and from that moment on a legend of a good life has been created. Supported by good technical knowledge of viticulture and production, obsessed with selection, our lamented Fernando has put a smile on his face for friendly, rounded wines with the approval of critics and the public. Including the 100 Parker points from their 2004 Gran Reserva. Family man, always with a broken heart for the loss of his daughter María, supportive, close, and uniquely sarcastic.
Today Rioja and the world of wine are in mourning. The winemaker died this morning due to a long illness that has become more complicated in recent months. He founded his winery in 1989 as his own personal project, although in reality he no longer had ownership of the winery after having transferred it to Urtasun from Álava, but the soul and face will continue to be his. As is often the case when giving your own name to a wine, this means bequeathing for the future the illusion that saw it born. With the closing of this brilliant page, one of the best written novels on Spanish wine comes to an end. First red, even a white, which will continue to accompany us along the way. Going to Alameda de Fuenmayor and not meeting Fernando is going to be very difficult for us.
Wherever you are Fernando, save your crabs for us to eat any afternoon with a glass of your best wine. What bears your name.