Summary
Marqués de Murrieta in Rioja Alta is one of the oldest and most storied wine estates in Spain. Founded in 1852, it was the first Rioja producer to export its wines, and its barrel ageing – learned in Bordeaux – helped shape the classic Rioja style. Its heart is the historic Finca Ygay south-east of Logroño, with around 300 hectares of estate vineyards. What makes the estate unmistakable is its extremely long ageing in barrel and bottle – its wines are among the longest-lived in the country. The icon is the Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial, both red and white, made only in great vintages and counted internationally among Spain's most highly rated wines.
History
The estate's story begins in 1852, when Luciano de Murrieta y García-Lemoine, the first Marqués de Murrieta, started making wine. He had studied modern cellar methods in Bordeaux and brought them to Rioja – above all ageing in small oak barrels, the 225-litre barricas. In doing so, he laid a cornerstone of the classic Rioja style. Murrieta is also seen as a pioneer of exports: his estate was the first in the region to sell its wines beyond Spain's borders.
In 1872 Murrieta acquired the Castillo Ygay property south-east of Logroño, which remains the estate's home and heart to this day. Over generations, Marqués de Murrieta stayed a byword for long-lived, traditionally aged Rioja wines. In 1983 the Cebrián-Sagarriga family took over the estate and invested heavily in vineyards and cellar. Today the estate is led by Vicente Dalmau Cebrián-Sagarriga, Conde de Creixell, together with his sister Cristina; long-serving cellar master María Vargas shapes the style of the wines.
Location & Terroir
Marqués de Murrieta sits at Finca Ygay in Rioja Alta, south-east of Logroño on the road towards Zaragoza. What sets it apart: the whole estate is a single, contiguous property – around 300 hectares of estate vines around the historic castle. This unity lets the estate know its vineyards intimately over the decades and cultivate individual sites with precision.
The soils are marked by limestone and clay, laced with gravel. The climate of Rioja Alta is slightly cooler and Atlantic-influenced, lending the wines freshness and structure – an important basis for their long ageing potential. Higher-altitude parcels such as the white-wine site Capellanía at around 485 metres produce especially elegant, long-lived wines.
Style & Philosophy
The style of Marqués de Murrieta is defined by patience. Few other estates age their wines so long in barrel and bottle before release. This long ageing gives the reds and whites their characteristic depth, their fine tertiary aromas and their exceptional keeping quality.
The foundation is classic ageing in oak barrels, just as the founder brought back from Bordeaux. At the same time, the estate has carefully modernised its range: alongside the traditional Reserva and Gran Reserva wines stands Dalmau, a modern, concentrated top wine, while the white Capellanía shows how long-lived white Rioja from the Viura grape can be. In this way Marqués de Murrieta blends traditional classicism with contemporary precision.
Notable vineyards & wines
At the centre of the range is Finca Ygay with its individual sites. Among the best-known wines and parcels are:
- Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial – the estate's icon, red and white, only in great vintages
- La Plana – old Tempranillo vines, the basis for the red Castillo Ygay
- Capellanía – white-wine site at around 485 metres for the long-lived wine of the same name
- Dalmau – modern, concentrated red from selected parcels
- The estate's classic Reserva and Gran Reserva wines
The historic Castillo de Ygay was turned into a museum in 2019, bringing the estate's long history to life.
Awards
The wines of Marqués de Murrieta rank internationally among the most highly rated in Spain. The red Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 2010 was named Wine Spectator's „Wine of the Year 2020" – one of the wine world's most coveted honours. The Castillo Ygay Blanco Gran Reserva Especial 1986 earned top scores, including a perfect 100 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. Results like these underline what has distinguished Marqués de Murrieta for more than 170 years: the ability to make Rioja wines of exceptional longevity and class.