What do you do when you've been exiled from your home country amidst a raging civil war?

Head on over to Bordeaux and pick up winemaking in the meantime of course! 

When Life Gives You Lemons, Go Learn How To Make Great Wines

Well, at least that's what Peru-born Spaniard Luciano de Murrieta did when the Spanish Civil War erupted in the mid-1800's. After the then Queen Isabella was dethroned by way of a coup, Murrieta would eventually return to Rioja, Spain, where he would bring with him the skills he had picked up in winegrowing and winemaking. He would first settle down in Logrono in 1852, from which he would debut his first wines. And although he had learnt how the French made their wines in Bordeaux, he would do things alittle differently, opting to vinify his wines in American oak and allowing them to mature in wood for much longer.

Marques de Murrieta of Rioja fame.

This proved to be a huge hit and Murrieta's winery would become the first commercial winery of Rioja, today known as one of the premier winemaking regions of Spain (and one of only two to hold the highest designation of DOCa/DOQ). In reward for his efforts, Murrieta would even find himself elevated to the status of nobility, having been anointed as the Marques de Murrieta. In 1872, he would acquire his most important possession yet, the Castillo Ygay, a chateaux of his own where he would center his winemaking at. It is thus Castillo Ygay that has helped to pioneer the winemaking practice of Rioja as we know it today.

Over the next century, Murrieta would steadily supply Rioja wines, and in so doing, served as a touchpoint for and representation of the region and its unique style. Murrieta's work would be continued on by his family for the next 111 years.

Murrieta Gets A New Lease On Life

In 1983, the winery would enter its next phase, one which would see it achieve international recognition and status, when it was acquired by Vicente Cebrián, the Count of Creixell. According to his son, Vicente Cebrián-Sagarriga, who now helps to helm the winery, “There were three important reasons why my father bought this winery,... First, he was a Marqués de Murrieta lover. He was always tasting and drinking the wines from this property. Second, he was already involved in wine in Galicia through the other winery that we own, Pazo de Barrantes, that has been in his family since 1511. And the third reason is because it was a good buy. It was a good brand that they were selling, and he realized it was a good business.”

Vicente Dalmau Cebrián-Sagarriga and his father, Vicente Cebrián senior.

With all the changes in place, it ultimately still took 15 years for Murrieta to begin to show proper results. "This was very difficult, and it needed time,... One of the tough things in Murrieta is that this is not a project where you’re selling young wines. You need time. And when you are very young, you are impatient; you want results immediately.”

Today Marques de Murrieta has been able to both produce a range of Rioja reds and whites that spans affordable entry level wines and all the way to the highly sought after and iconic Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial, whilst maintaining exceptional quality across the board. This is made possible as the winery only makes use of estate grown fruit, a rare feature in Rioja where most bodegas would typically purchase fruit from a number of growers from around the region. Yet this allows Murrieta the ability to control what's being grown and the quality of the fruit, across its extensive 740 acres of vines.

Whilst the Marques de Murrieta Reserva accounts for the majority of the bodegas' production (about 80% of its wines made), it also counts labels such as the Dalmau, which sees the use of international varieties with a percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the cuvee, and a white label, the Capellania Reserva, and then of course the estate's crowning gem, the Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial, a single vineyard expression which comes in both red and white, harvested from the 98 acre La Plana vineyards planted in 1950. Yet, again as testament to the bodegas' commitment to quality, the Ygay wines are aged in wood for 2 years first before assessing whether it is to be aged further to produce the coveted Ygay label, or if it will simply go into the Marques de Murrieta label - which means in even the entry level Murrieta labels, you'll find some Ygay fruit!

Over the years, Vicente has sought to keep both traditions alive whilst embracing modern trends towards fresher and riper expressions, and thus has moved the aging of the flagship Marques de Murrieta Reserva from 5 years in wood to 2 years in wood with then 3 more years of ageing in bottle before its released. Progressively, more new oak has been incorporated as well (which is atypical of Rioja's winemaking), with 30% of the Reserva wines aged in new American oak labels for several months before moving into older barrels. This would thus produce a style that featured more fresh fruit flavours and elegance.

Murrieta Into Modernity

And yet three decades in, Vicente is not yet done - not even close! In 2021, the bodegas unveiled a new, modernised winery right next to Castillo Ygay, right within their vineyards. The US$30m facility now brings to the estate a 377,000 square foot space that holds two separate fermentation rooms, a 10,000 barrel aging room, as well as a new bottling line, along with 53 concrete tanks, and a sizeable aging warehouse that can hold 1 million bottles - essential for a winemaker that is known for extensively ageing its wines before its release. 

Vicente and his sister, Cristina.

“In life, you really have to believe in what you are doing and have confidence in the things you are doing. I believe that all of our efforts in the things that we are doing will one day have big results, and we are in this moment now.”

Vicente Dalmau Cebrián-Sagarriga

And so with all that said, let's try a white and a red from Marques de Murrieta!

Let's go!

Wine Review: Marques de Murrieta Pazo Barrantes Albarino 2021

Let's start with the Albarino from Pazo Barrantes. "Pazo" translates as Palace in its native Galician, and so the 12-hectare Pazo Barrantes manor sits in the Galician Salnes valley in the heart of D.O. Rias Baixas, and is said to produce some of the world's best Albarino (as is testified by Wine & Spirits magazine). This estate belongs to the Cebrián family, and has been making wines since as early 1511. As such, it sits apart from the original Marques de Murrieta vineyards in Rioja, with both vineyards today managed by the Cebrián family of course. 

The soils of the estate are granite in nature, with a sandy surface. Only Albarino vines are grown here, and they average 40 years of age. They are manually harvested, and after which, go through sorting and selection, where the fruit is then destemmed and gently pressed by a pneumatic press. The must produced is then clarified, and after which it is fermented at 10 degrees Celsius in stainless steel tanks for about 30 days. Post fermentation, it rests for 3 more months on fine lees in the stainless steel tank. Since the 2019 vintage, the Gran Vino has been aged for 6 additional months in stainless steel tanks and 15% of which in acacia wood barrels. Progressively, the winemaking has involved more extended ageing, with a later bottling and more time in bottle before its release.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Light Tint

Aroma: Remarkably floral, it's radiating chrysanthemum flowers and marigolds, amongst bouquets of an assortment of yellow florals. There's a delicate muskiness about it, with some green and white fruits of gooseberries and langsats. It's soft yet perfumed, really vibrant.

Taste: It leans lighter yet maintains a great richness. There's an immediate sourness and acidity that comes through, really fresh, with great concentration of those gooseberries, fresh and in the form of jams. It's gently sweet with light tartness.

Finish: More of that gooseberries, bringing with it light acidity and musk. It's quite seamless and firm, yet turns richer and more concentrated into the finish. 

My Thoughts

A really delicate yet radiant expression here, it's elegant yet firm, filled with yellow chrysanthemum and marigold florals on the nose, and on the body it's fresh and once again delicate yet rich and buoyed by all these green and white fruits that carry through into the finish. The body showcases some really fresh acidity that counterbalances the gentle sweetness, seamlessly held together into the finish where it only gets richer and more concentrated. A really pleasant expression that's subtle and understated, yet holds much elegance and complexity! 

Wine Review: Marques de Murrieta Rioja Gran Reserva 2016

And now we head back to the Castillo Ygay vineyards - this Murrieta's flagship wine, and is made with Tempranillo, Mazuelo, Graciano y Garnacha, these all come from the 300 hectares of vineyards around the Ygay Estate, where the soils are calcareous-clay in nature, and also elevated at 320 to 485 meters of altitude.

The fruits are manually harvested, destemmed and fermented in stainless steel tanks for 8-10 days, constant skin contact, and during which it's pumped over and punched down regularly. It's then aged for 21 months in American oak barrels.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Dark Ruby

Aroma: Powerfully aromatic! Initially it's wrapped around with a doughy yeastiness, which lets up to more on fermented fruit and kombucha, and as it completely opens up, it begins to give radiant aromas of raspberries and melons, There's still a light yogurt scent of milky tartness, which comes across almost Sake like even.

Taste: Really good richness here, the tannins definitely show themselves here, yet they're fine and firm, really sturdy almost. More on tobacco, raspberries, blackberries and cassis - a pretty even mix of red and black fruit, It's got great depth, and is really silky and velvety, showing such concentration.

Finish: It begins to turn more dry here, the tannins continuing to firm up, the skins are definitely apparent, coming through somewhat grippy. Raspberry jams and tobacco continue to pour forth through the finish.

My Thoughts

Just wow! This is an incredibly powerful expression that's incredibly radiant and fresh, superb concentration and depth too, it's so complex and showcases such uniqueness. It's also really rustic and pure in that freshness, you almost feel like you're by the vineyards right in the crisp morning! It's body is velvety and plush, still really great concentration and richness, although the tannins do definitely make themselves apparent, they still are pretty fine for the most part. Into the finish is where it starts to get more dry and pretty grippy, yet at the same time that rustic purity of fruit and earth just continues to be on full display. Such a stellar expression! I was totally blown away by this one!