"If Rioja has a bodega that can rival the appearance of a great Bordeaux château - a Margaux, Cos d'Estournel or Pichon Baron perhaps - then it is surely Murrieta [...] Built in 1872 and lovingly restored in 2013, it makes wines that are every bit as stylish as its façade, combining traditional and contemporary techniques. [...] The winery's 300ha produce some of the best and most celebrated wines in Spain, led by its occasional Castillo Ygay bottlings (both red and white), Dalmau (one of the few local wines that includes Cabernet Sauvignon) and its ageworthy Capellanía white. Also commendable is its reliable Reserva, which accounts for 85% of Murrieta's production."  Tim Atkin, MW, Decanter, Feb 2018

Among the great wine regions, Rioja D.O.Ca., in northern Spain stands out with no peers and no comparison. 

Consider this - the dominant grapes, Tempranillo for the reds, Viura for the whites, are rarely seen outside of Spain and rarely hit these heights of quality anywhere else within.  American oak historically has been preferred over French, as Tempranillo and American oak seem to have a synergistic quality, producing incredible aromas and flavours such as incense, creamy coconut, pencil lead, toasted bread and exotic Asian spices. 

By DOCa law, all wines must be aged at the winery before release, first in barrel, then in bottle, meaning even the best wines are ready to drink immediately - and for decades thereafter.

We are proud to represent Marqués de Murrieta, the first winery, in 1852, to sell a bottle of Rioja and the first winery to export Rioja wine internationally.

Marqués de Murrieta does not produce a wine below Reserva designation.  Their single vineyard whites are the stuff of legend, their single-vineyard wines are highly collectable, and their best red, Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial is an icon.

We have three wines on offer today.  My colleague Elizabeth Clinton will be fielding responses. 

To order, just reply to this email or give us a call, 416 961 2294.

For more on Marqués de Murrieta, click here.  For our full list of wines, click here.

Cheers,
Chris. 



Marqués de Murrieta
"Capellanía" Rioja Blanco Reserva 2015
$49.99 per bottle, cases of 6
**arriving late September 2020* 
 
"Fermented in stainless steel and aged in new French wood, Capellania hails from a parcel of 70-year-old Viura at 485 metres. This is an increasingly refined, nuanced, ageworthy white with salinity, minerality, precision and notes of citrus, white pepper and grapefruit. 2020-30."
96 points and a 2020 Wine of the Year, Tim Atkin MW Rioja Report 2020

"A linear and tight white with superb lemon curd, apple, lemon and crème caramel. Full body, phenolic tension and density give this white form and beauty. Extremely long and flavourful. Drink or hold."
96 points, JamesSuckling.com, July 2019

"The wine has been aged for fifteen months in new French oak after fermentation in stainless steel. Green tinges and white gold, then a seductive nose which marries tropical fruit, beeswax, verbena and chamomile. The palate adds chalky, white pepper complexity and hints of pineapple and quince. The tropical and the citric dance an energetic pas de deux; fresh and composed, yet, for all that, one does not entirely lose the distinctive waxy personality of its previous incarnation, when American oak held court. Drinking Window 2019 - 2025."
93 points, Decanter, Nov 2019


Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Reserva 2016
$33.99 per 750ml bottle, cases of 12
 
"Murrieta's Reserva bottling is always up there with the best examples in the region, expressing vintage variation as well as terroir. The bodega reduced its crop in the vineyard to produce a wine with more concentration, marrying Tempranillo with 13% Graciano, Mazuelo and Garnacha and ageing it in 10% American wood. Pure, serious and refreshing with underlying elegance. 2021-30"
94 points, Tim Atkins MW, Rioja Report 2020
 
"This is very structured and powerful with a dense and rich palate of ripe fruit and hints of toasted oak. Full and layered. Structured. Needs a few years of bottle age. Try after 2021."
94 points, JamesSuckling.com, July 2019

 

Marques de Murrieta
"Castillo Ygay" Gran Reserva Especial 2010
$205.99 per bottle, cases of 6
**arriving October 2020**
 
"Marvelous aromas of crushed berries, tobacco, cedar and mushrooms. Some dried cheese. Then turns to flowers. Very complex. Full and intense with fantastic depth and power. It goes on for minutes. It is a wine that exudes tradition but gives a sense of modernity with precise winemaking. Two years in oak, one in concrete and three or four in bottle. Drink on release and age onwards."
99 points, JamesSuckling.com, Dec 2019

"Ygay these days is a blend of Tempranilo and Mazuelo, the later making up 15% in this vintage. 2010 will be remembered in the great vineyards of Europe as a classic year, elegant restraint and wonderful harmonious balance, even in youth, its key characteristics. The Ygay fits this template perfectly; plums and sloes, hints of blueberry and cassis, then figs, cocoa and sousbois, a distinct balsamic note to underline provenance. The Mazuelo etches fresh acidity and a powerful finish, leaving the Tempranillo the opportunity to dance flamboyantly on the mid-palate, the bringer of joy and harmony. Drinking window 2022 - 2050."
97 points, Decanter magazine, Nov 2019

"The latest in a run of brilliant releases under the Castillo Ygay label, this is a cuvée of Tempranillo with 15% Mazuelo from the La Plana vineyard, planted in 1950. Still young, with plenty of new American and French oak, vivid acidity, notes of green malt, blackberry and forest floor and impressive freshness, depth and concentration. 2025-35."
96 points and Wine of the Year award winner, Tim Atkin MW, Rioja Report 2020


 
Rogers_Logo_Small_Black

Elizabeth Clinton
416 961 2294