Marqués de Murrieta

Marqués de Murrieta was founded in 1852 by Luciano de Murrieta y Garcia-Lemoine, born in Arequipa, Peru, to a Basque father and Peruvian mother. After spending time in Bordeaux learning viticultural and winemaking techniques, he returned to Rioja and produced the first wine of the modern era in 1852. His vision was to create fine Rioja with great ageing potential and take it beyond Spain's borders; he exported the legendary 1852 vintage to Mexico and Cuba, making it the first fine Rioja wine to reach international markets. In 1872 he purchased the Castillo Ygay estate, where the wines continue to be produced. Queen Isabel II later appointed him Marqués de Murrieta. After Don Luciano's death in 1911 the estate passed through other hands before being purchased in 1983 by Vicente Cebrián-Sagarriga, Count of Creixell. Following the elder Vicente's unexpected death in 1996, his son Vicente Dalmau Cebrián-Sagarriga took charge and embarked on a decades-long programme of renovation and quality improvement.

• Don Luciano applied Bordeaux techniques in Rioja from 1852, exported the 1852 vintage to Mexico and Cuba, and established the template for fine Rioja wine
• Castillo Ygay was purchased in 1872 and remains the estate headquarters; the building was declared a museum in 2019 in recognition of its heritage
• The Cebrián-Sagarriga family acquired the winery in 1983; Vicente Dalmau Cebrián-Sagarriga took over as President in 1996 following his father's death at age 47

Jancis Robinson has described Marqués de Murrieta as belonging to the Rioja aristocracy, alongside La Rioja Alta, CVNE, López de Heredia, Muga, and Marqués de Riscal. Karen MacNeil has called it one of the oldest and most prestigious bodegas in Rioja. The estate's flagship, Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial, was named Wine Spectator Wine of the Year in 2020 (2010 vintage) and has received 100-point scores on 18 occasions from critics including Parker, Decanter, and James Suckling. Forbes named Marqués de Murrieta the best winery in Europe and third best in the world in its 2025 ranking. Murrieta is also one of the very few Rioja producers to continue making traditional long-aged white wines, represented by the Capellanía Reserva Blanco and the rare Castillo Ygay Blanco Gran Reserva Especial.

• Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 2010 was Wine Spectator's Wine of the Year for 2020, competing against more than 15,000 wines evaluated by the publication's editors
• Castillo Ygay has received 100 points from leading critics on 18 separate occasions and is considered one of the world's most acclaimed wines
• Forbes ranked Marqués de Murrieta the best winery in Europe and third best globally in its 2025 World's 50 Best Wineries list
• Tim Atkin MW wrote that the reliable Reserva accounts for 85% of Murrieta's production and described it as a sure-value classic Rioja

All wines are produced from Finca Ygay, a 300-hectare estate located in the southernmost point of Rioja Alta surrounding the winery, with mainly calcareous-clay soils at altitudes from 320 to 485 metres. This single-estate philosophy, established by the founder, guarantees exhaustive quality control from vine to bottle. Key individual plots include La Plana (40 ha, 485m, planted 1950, Tempranillo and Mazuelo), home of Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial; Capellanía (6 ha, 485m, planted 1945, Viura), source of the white Capellanía Reserva; and Canajas (9 ha, 465m, planted 1950, iron-clay soils), from which the single-vineyard Dalmau is made. Varieties ferment separately in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks before ageing in oak by variety.

• Castillo Ygay is 81% Tempranillo and 19% Mazuelo; Tempranillo ages for 34 months in 225-litre American oak barrels and Mazuelo for 34 months in 225-litre French oak barrels
• Capellanía is 100% Viura from a 6-hectare plot planted in 1945 at 485 metres; it is fermented and aged in new French oak barrels
• Dalmau is sourced from the 9-hectare Canajas vineyard at 465 metres, planted in 1950 on iron-clay and stony soils, and aged in new French oak barrels
• The estate's Reserva blends Tempranillo with Graciano, Mazuelo, and Garnacha; the 2018 edition was 86% Tempranillo, 8% Graciano, 4% Mazuelo, and 2% Garnacha

Marqués de Murrieta wines are defined by elegance, structure, and remarkable longevity rather than primary fruit intensity. The reds show leather, cigar box, and cedar on the nose, alongside dark and red cherry fruit, with a palate of polished tannins, tobacco leaf, Mediterranean herbs, and a savoury, peppery finish. American oak imparts vanilla and spice in restrained measure, integrating over decades rather than dominating in youth. The whites, particularly Capellanía, show waxy, nutty complexity from oak-ageing of Viura, with freshness preserved by the high altitude of the Ygay plateau. The Castillo de Ygay Gran Reserva Especial, always aged for approximately a decade before release, represents the fullest expression of this style.

• Red wines combine American-oak cedary spice with structured tannins and are built for long cellaring; the Castillo Ygay is typically held ten years or more at the winery before release
• The Dalmau, sourced from Canajas and aged in new French oak, offers a more concentrated and fruit-forward expression than the classic American-oak reds
• Capellanía demonstrates that Viura, when farmed at high altitude and aged in French oak, produces serious, gastronomic white Rioja with genuine ageing potential
• No Castillo Ygay red was produced in the 2013, 2014, or 2015 vintages, underscoring the estate's strict selection policy

The Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial is the estate's most celebrated bottling, made only in exceptional vintages from La Plana (40 ha, planted 1950, 485m). The 2010 vintage was Wine Spectator Wine of the Year in 2020 with 96 points and a $139 release price. The 2012, a blend of 81% Tempranillo and 19% Mazuelo, received 97 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and 100 points from James Suckling, who named it the number one Spanish wine of 2023. Dalmau, the single-vineyard cuvée from Canajas, blends Tempranillo with Cabernet Sauvignon and a small portion of Graciano, all aged in new French oak barriques. The Capellanía Reserva Blanco, from 1945-planted Viura at 485m, regularly scores in the low-to-mid 90s and is widely regarded as one of Spain's finest white wines.

• Castillo Ygay 2010: 96 points Wine Spectator, Wine of the Year 2020; 2012: 97 points Robert Parker, 100 points James Suckling, number one Spanish wine of 2023
• Dalmau is sourced exclusively from the 9-hectare Canajas single vineyard planted 1950 at 465 metres, aged in 100% new French oak barrels
• Capellanía Reserva Blanco 2020 received 96 points from James Suckling; the 1986 Castillo Ygay Blanco was bottled in 2014 after more than 20 years of ageing in American oak barrels
• The Marqués de Murrieta Reserva is the volume wine, representing approximately 85% of production, and is a blend of Tempranillo, Graciano, Mazuelo, and Garnacha aged in American oak

Marqués de Murrieta is located a few kilometres from Logroño at the southern edge of Rioja Alta. The 300-hectare Finca Ygay is one of the largest contiguous single-estate vineyards in Rioja. Soils are predominantly calcareous-clay with alluvial influence, and altitude ranges from 320 to 485 metres above sea level. The estate benefits from an Atlantic-influenced climate that moderates temperatures, preserves natural acidity, and allows extended, even ripening. The highest plateau, La Plana, where Castillo Ygay grapes are grown, sits at 485 metres and provides the coolest temperatures and most pronounced mineral tension on the estate. The Castillo Ygay itself has been recognised as one of Europe's most iconic wine heritage sites and was declared a museum in 2019.

• Finca Ygay encompasses 300 hectares in southern Rioja Alta, making it one of the largest single-wine-project estates in the entire region
• Soils are mainly calcareous-clay with altitude ranging from 320 metres (lower plots) to 485 metres (La Plana and Capellanía plateau)
• Atlantic influence from the west moderates the continental climate, preserving freshness and acidity, which underpins the wines' ageing potential
• The Castillo de Ygay, built in 1872, holds the most extensive collection of historic Rioja vintages in existence and was declared a protected museum in 2019