Rioja Reserva Marques de Murrieta 2018

Description

Established in 1852, Murrieta is one of the oldest and most respected bodegas in Rioja Alta. Their wines are concentrated and long-lived and some, like “Castillo Ygay”, have become legendary amongst wine-lovers. Marqués de Murrieta has t stood back and stagnated however; their 300 hectare estate produces Dalmau – a blend which represents an avant-garde expression of their terroir.

Within the 300 hectare Ygay estate, surrounding the winery in the southern point of Rioja Alta wine area. There is an altitude difference of 165 metres between the lowest point at 320 metres and the highest peak at 485 metres.

Grapes are first de-stemmed and then fermented in temperature controlled, stainless steel tanks for 8 days, with constant skin contact. During fermentation wine is both pumped over the cap of grape skins at the top of the tank (remontage), and also the cap is pressed into the fermenting wine (pigeage). Both these processes ensure a perfect colour and aroma extraction, without producing excessive tannin. Afterwards the solid parts of the grapes are pressed in vertical presses with double screws. This is a smooth and slow treatment that favours the extraction of the colour and tannins that reside in the skin of the grapes.

Flavours of ripe plum, red cherry and berries blend with spicy tes of licorice and sweet balsamic. The wine is silky and well balanced with rounded tannins and refreshing acidity. The long, mineral finish has tes of sweet spice and ripe plum fruit.

Food Pairing: Red tuna grilled with viura shoots, bittersweet of piquillo pepper and soya, roasted onion; Galician blond beef tail in cannelloni of fine baked potato and red wine; vine shoots grilled turbot, its collagen in olive, rosemary and spicy hint; sugar-neutral tart with blue cheese and burrata.

93 Points. The Wine Advocate. 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.