Marqués de Murrieta Marqués de Murrieta Rioja NV 750ml

A precise and polished red with cherry, plum, slate, iron, and powdered earth. It’s medium- to full-bodied with sublime tannins that are beautifully integrated into the wine. It’s structured, yet the tannins are very silky. It’s curated and thoughtful. Two years in American oak (10% new) and 14 months in bottle. Sophisticated and very drinkable, but will age nicely. Drink or hold.

The 2019 Marqués de Murrieta is 93 Tempranillo, 5% Mazuelo and 2% Garnacha Tinta, sourced from Pago La Capellania in the Ygay estate, Rioja Alta. Aged for 24 months in American oak barrels, this garnet wine offers notes of sour cherry, balsamic and dried flowers, along with a lactic-vanilla-cedar layer. On the palate, it is dry, mild and lean, with a juicy flow and fine-grained tannins that culminate in a long-lasting finish. The 2018 vintage represents a harmonious blend of traditional oak-vanilla influences and the emerging fruit-forward trend.

The 2019 Rioja Reserva, their flagship wine, comes from the 300 hectares of estate vineyards. Here, Tempranillo is the backbone, making up 87% of the wine in the low-yielding vintage of 2019 and complemented with 6% Graciano, 5% Mazuelo and 2% Garnacha. This is the second vintage in the new winery. It’s a balsamic and spicy version — a wine with muscle that they aged for a longer time in barrel, and it’s more traditional and serious. It’s ripe at 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.65 and 5.3 grams of acidity. They seek balance between fruit and oak, looking for freshness. A more powerful year.