Marques de Murrieta Capellania Blanco Reserva Rioja 2018
(Wine Advocate Score 94) To catch up with the current vintages that I shall review every 12 months from now on, I tasted two vintages of some of the wines, including the whites. The 2018 Capellanía is 100% Viura from the plot that names the wine. The vineyard is six hectares planted in 1945 at 485 meters altitude, the highest in the estate. It fermented in concrete, the first vintage to do so, as it was fermented in stainless steel until then, and matured in second-use French oak barrels for 22 months. It spent a further seven months in concrete, a long élevage, with the idea to produce a structured white with aging potential, while keeping the varietal character. The wine is subtle and elegant, following the path of all the wines in the portfolio here, still marked by the élevage in oak, spicy and smoky. The palate is balanced, with a nice combination of fruit and oak, with a soft texture, clean, focused and tasty. It has 14% alcohol, a low pH of 3.1 and 6.10 grams of acidity. 21,836 bottled and 688 magnums produced. It was bottled in July 2022. This is now released with the Gran Reserva back label.
Capellania is made from Viura grapes, a white variety obtained from Capellania vineyard, a 6 hectares plot located at the highest altitude of the Ygay Estate. Thanks to this altitude, the great quality of its calcareous soils and the low yields obtained from the 70 years old vines, this variety reaches its maximum potential.
Every single step in the winemaking of Capellanía is aimed to reach the maximum expression of the variety: manual harvest, sorting table, low temperature fermentation… Its balanced ageing for more than 12 months in French barrels provides the wine precision and makes Capellanía an incredible gastronomic wine.
| Winery | Marques de Murrieta |
|---|---|
| Country | Spain |
| Region | Rioja |
| Wine Type | White Wine |
| Grape variety | Viura |
| Bottle Size | Bottle |
| Vintage | 2018 |
Browse all Marques de Murrieta Wines
The origin of Marqués de Murrieta winery is also the origin of Rioja. Don Luciano Murrieta, applying techniques learned in Bordeaux, made the first Rioja wine in 1852, with the intention of sustaining it over time.
Don Luciano´s vision was clear from the begin-ning: to create a fine Rioja wine with a great ageing potential and start exporting it outside of Spain. He shipped his first vintage, with the legendary 1852, to countries such as Mexico and Cuba, making it the first fine Rioja wine to be exported.
Marqués de Murrieta is a way of living that starts in the land with every single grape and we share with the world through our wines. We are a family and a professional team with the same goal: to keep our tradition alive, believe in ourselves and in the quality in the search for excellence. We work with our hands, our mind and our heart applying the technology always in balance with our history.
Marqués de Murrieta is continuously evolving with new and visionary ideas which enable us to adapt to the new times, new consumers and our dreams. Our vocation drives us to work always with passion and dignify our vineyard, every grape, every bottle, every glass of wine in any part of the world where we are present.
