Marques de Murietta tasting with Special Guest Dalmau Cebrian Sagarriga

This is one of the most famous estates in all of Rioja with the history going back to 1878!  The wines here are magical and are the work of several possessed wine lovers that though out the history of this great property would settle at nothing less than the best.

The founder of this estate traveled from Peru to London and then to Spain to make wine.  Luciano Francisco Ramon de Murrieta was probably mentored by his uncle, General Rivero de Murrieta, who worked in the city as a banker, and reputedly had spent much of his life acquainting himself with the fine wines of the world.   Luciano went home to Spain to serve in the armed forces and undoubtedly saw the potential of his homeland for wine production.  He could not help but notice the English thirst for fine wine and this epiphany was no doubt what nudged him into the direction of the wine business.

In 1848 Luciano travelled to Bordeaux to study wine production and a short four years later he had returned to Rioja to make wine.   Then, four years after that he saw his first serious commercial exploit, as Murrieta sent 100 barrels of Rioja to Mexico and Cuba, however only half of the cargo ever reached shore but what did was a resounding success.  Luciano continued to make wine and in 1878 he founded his own estate at Ygay, not far from Logroño.   His venture was an immediate success, so much so that Queen Isabel II, who enticed her loyal servant back to Spain following her coronation in 1844, to confer on him the title of Marquesado de Murrieta; and thus the estate of Marqués de Murrieta came to life.

Life has its ironies and Luciano died a bachelor in 1911, at the ripe old age of 89.   The estate passed to his nephew, Julián de Olivares, who held court there until his death in 1977. It was then sold to Vicente Cebrián Sagarriga, Count of Creixell.   Ironically, death once again stole the estate of its proprietor, and Vicente's widow and children took control.  It is Vicente's son, Vicente Dalmau Cebrián-Sagarriga, with his sister Cristina, that now set the course for this famous estate, along with their wunderkind technical director Maria Vargas.

Today the estate consists of 300 hectares of vineyards located close to Logroño.  They are near the border between Rioja Alta and Rioja Baja. They have all seven of the traditional grapes of this area planted here, dominated by Tempranillo of course which accounts for 75% of the vineyard, with Mazuelo, Garnacha and Graziano making up the balance, with small quantities of white varieties, including Viura, Malvasia and Garnacha Blanca.

Marqués de Murrieta produces a wide range of wines in both the red and the white category.  Leading the way is their cellar worthy Castillo Y Gay Gran Reserva Especial, which is probably one of the most well-known wines produced not only here but in the whole of Rioja.  It is a traditional Tempranillo heavy blend, which will often see aging in excess of 36 months in American oak before bottling.  There is also a Reserva Especial, a similar blend also subject to prolonged wood ageing.  I will never forget the 1942 vintage of this wine that we served a year ago, it spent an astounding 29 years in cask and was amazingly fresh and one of the greatest wines that I have ever tasted.  This wine is only made in the very best vintages, like:  1917, 1925, 1934, 1942, 1952, 1959, 1964, 1968, 1970, 1978 and this 2005.  Otherwise Marqués de Murrieta will produce a range of standard Gran Reservas and Reservas which are also exceptional, but experiencing a bottle of the Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial is a reason for celebration- this is truly one of the world’s great wines!!!