People with high aesthetic standards and good taste are often deeply intense. They notice things the rest of us may not. A crooked picture. The wrong shade of green. A wine released a few months too early. And once they notice, they can’t leave it alone.
Vicente Dalmau Cebrián-Sagarriga, the 11th Count of Creixell, I believe, has always been a man on a pursuit of excellence. He inherited Marqués de Murrieta, one of Rioja’s oldest wine estates, along with a noble title, a castle and enough history to keep most people busy for several lifetimes, but apparently, that wasn’t enough.
He wanted to make it better. Much better.
This is the story of a family, a man, a castle and a rather remarkable obsession with detail — and of one man’s attempt to convince the world that Rioja could sit comfortably at the luxury table without losing what made it Rioja in the first place, its soul.
A family business, of sorts
Vicente grew up between Madrid and the family’s historic Galician estate, Pazo de Barrantes. Wine eventually took over when his father acquired Marqués de Murrieta in 1983 and began restoring the old estate at Ygay. At the time he studied economics, business and law at the University of Navarra while already working in the family company.
Then, in 1996, everything changed.
His father died suddenly of a heart attack, aged just 47. Vicente was 26, and there are probably easier moments in life to take over a historic wine estate. He did it anyway, together with his sister Cristina. The sensible thing might have been to preserve what his father had built, keep the machinery running and make sure the bills were paid.
Instead, Vicente apparently looked at the place and thought: We can do better.
And then came the long, expensive, exhausting and occasionally, probably obsessive business of proving it.
The castle gets a remake
At some point, the project stopped being simply about making better wine, the vineyards were reconsidered, the winery was rebuilt. The old Castillo Ygay was restored and the cellar became part of the experience. Hospitality mattered, presentation mattered, where the bottle sat on a table mattered, everything mattered.
Vicente wasn’t trying to make Murrieta the next Bordeaux, Burgundy or Napa Valley, he was trying to make Murrieta the best possible version of Murrieta.
That is a subtle difference, and perhaps the most important one.
Ultimately, everything in life comes down to good taste. Steve Jobs
Time and wine are good friends but time is costly
Rioja had spent decades being very good at being Rioja, reliable, traditional, recognisable, often very good value. But Vicente wanted something more, not a wine that happened to be expensive – a wine that deserved to be expensive.
That meant time, vineyards, attention to detail — and a refusal to rush things simply because the market wanted another vintage on the shelves. The result is a winery that is nothing but impressive, it looks almost like a small Spanish wine kingdom, especially when the sun sets and the entire estate lights up. And then, of course, there is the wine.
The crown jewel
Castillo Ygay is the obvious showstopper. It has been awarded 100 Parker points eight times and voted best wine in the world by Wine Spectator 2020. But here’s the interesting thing, you don’t need to spend a small fortune to drink a really good Murrieta.
The bottle I keep coming back to is the much more approachable Marqués de Murrieta Reserva. This is where the story gets more interesting than the trophy cabinet, because this is not a wine made to impress you for fifteen minutes in a tasting room, it is meant to sit on a table, with food and with friends. It has the structure and oak you expect from a serious Rioja, but enough freshness to keep the bottle moving around the table. And that, to me, is where Spanish wine makes the most sense.
One bottle, one story:
The Reserva comes from the Ygay Estate, with Tempranillo doing most of the talking, accompanied by Graciano, Mazuelo and Garnacha. The varieties are fermented separately and the wine spends time in American oak. All useful information, but honestly, I rather tell you what to eat with it, because a good Rioja was never invented for tasting notes, it was invented for lunch, preferably a lingering lunch, or a long dinner.
Local food paring:
- Chuletillas de cordero al sarmiento — lamb chops grilled over vine cuttings.
Probably my first choice. Smoke, lamb fat, herbs and Rioja. No PowerPoint presentation required. - Carrilleras — slow-cooked beef cheeks.
Rich, sticky and deeply satisfying. The tannins have something to do. - Jamón Ibérico and aged Manchego.
Two things Spain has spent several centuries getting very, very right. - Wild mushrooms with garlic and thyme.
Earthy, savoury and slightly rustic. A lovely counterpoint to the mature character of the wine. - Roast chicken.
Yes, chicken. A properly roasted bird with crispy skin and a good jus can make a Reserva look rather clever. - Or simply a Spanish stew.
Alubias. Lentejas with chorizo. Rabo de toro.
Food that doesn’t need an explanation, neither does the wine.
Notebook finds: Visiting Ygay Estate, Rioja
Visit and tasting of three Marqués de Murrieta wines, accompanied by three Spanish gourmet bites, a very good excuse to put the phone away for an hour and try to understand what it takes to create a winery like Marques de Murrieta.
Is it the pursuit of excellence, a man and his vision, or the ability to put together the right people to work with? All three, I guess.
One thing is sure, it takes something truly extraordinary to create what Vicente, his family, and all the people at Marqués de Murrieta have built over the last four decades. That we get to come along for the ride—to taste the fruit of all that labour and hear the stories behind it—is, in the end, why I love wine.
Note: Marques de Murrieta was voted the best winery in the world 2023 and Europe’s best winery 2025.
Spanish Wine Diary – Stefan Gahlin
Useful links:
https://marquesdemurrieta.com/en/
Rioja Official Website: https://riojawine.com/en-gb/
Spain Official Tourist Website: https://www.spain.info/en/