Telmo Rodriguez, Spain

Biodynamic

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Telmo Rodriguez
WEBSITE

The Wine Terroir-ist

Telmo Rodriguez is one of Spain’s pioneering and most celebrated winemakers, advocating native grape varietals tied to the climates and conditions of their sites, and making world-class wines from undiscovered as well as known regions. He was one of the first to produce wines in multiple regions in Spain— a rarity back in 1994. His efforts in revolutionizing wines from Spain, and his accomplishments as he has been featured and written about by the world's top wine publications (Robert Parker, Wine Spectator, James Suckling, Wine Enthusiast etc.) over the years with a recent 2019 release report on RobertParker.com that is dedicated to only his wines.

Telmo studied viticulture and oenology at the University of Bordeaux. After finishing his studies, he continued living in France since he started working in Rodano Valley. Once in Spain he worked in Remelluri, the family winery, for ten years. Back in 1994, he decided to start with Compañía de Vinos Telmo Rodríguez together with his friend Pablo Eguzkiza where they focus on the preservation and revitalization of almost forgotten vineyards that were close to disappearing in 9 different appellations across the country. Passionate about putting Spain’s best terroirs on the map, in addition to his family estate Remelluri in Rioja Alavesa, he makes wine from a number of small plots across the country including Toro, Ribera del Duero, Malaga, Cigales, Rueda and Valdeorras.

Perhaps most impressive, while Telmo Rodriguez makes rare and limited wines of astonishing character and quality, his everyday wines have been equally praised with high scores from international critics of 90 and above, and widely recognized for the tremendous value they offer. The jewel in his crown is Las Beatas, a terraced single-vineyard between Briñas and Labastida in Rioja from which he makes just 500 bottles of wine a year. To no surprise, Telmos wines are featured in the finest of hotels and restaurants globally. For example, a glass of his MR Mountain Wine a sweet moscatel from Malaga was constantly on the dessert pairing at the famed El Bulli. Recently, Telmo has been selected as Winemaker of the Year in Tim Atkin MWs book: Rioja 2019 Special Report.