2020 Marqués de Murrieta Reserva Rioja

The 2020 Rioja Reserva, their flagship wine, comes from the 300 hectares of estate vineyards. Here, Tempranillo is the backbone, making up 82% of the blend in the low-yielding vintage of 2019, complemented with 8% Graciano, 7% Mazuelo and 3% Garnacha. It has controlled ripeness at 14% alcohol, with a pH of 3.65 and 5.1 grams of acidity. I loved the aromatics here—floral and elegant, more in the style of the 2018 than the 2019. it's lighter, more elegant, fine-boned and has a silky texture and very fine tannins. Both 2019 and 2020 are very good, but 2020 is more my style. 980,000 bottles produced. It was bottled after 21 months in American oak barrels. (LG) 94+

When thinking about the wines and winery Marques de Murrieta I always feel that there is an overlap with Bordeaux. Now, there are many reasons for this that have absolutely nothing to do with the wine in our glasses. This estate, yes estate like in Bordeaux, was conceived of being a wine estate or a Chateaux in Bordeaux. The original owner was inspired by those wines while he was in exile in the 1840’s. When he returned to Rioja, he specifically created the estate that way while all of his contemporaries were just making blends from fruit or wine from all over the region. The history of Rioja is very much intertwined with Bordeaux. Another reason, and this has nothing to do with the wine, but the export manager for the estate is the grandson of the former owner of Pichon Lalande. The last connection informs the next, the Reserva always has a feel to it that to makes me think of the best St Julien. Now this in no way tastes like Bordeaux, this is unmistakably Rioja, with its aromatics from the fruit and oak aging, not to mention the difference in structure. But there is a polish, a reserved intensity and balance to this wine. I cannot put an exact word to it, but that presence is apparent just from the nose, this smell like special Rioja. 2020 is not as concentrated of a vintage as the 2019, and that plays towards the more elegant style of Marques de Murrieta. The nose is lifted and aromatic, the core is that dark cherry fruit of Tempranillo, which is fresh and bright, but the Mazuelo and Garnacha add intriguing depth and shades of different tones on the periphery. The American oak is present, it the helping to define what this is, but it is restrained displaying layers of balsam and spice. On the palate this delivers. It is full and balanced. The fruit is clean and pure, with layers of red fruits and berries that are focused with spice and restrained oak. While this might lack a little of the previous vintages immediate power and intensity, the complexity and purity more than make up for that. Not to mention, the more time that you spend with the wine, the bigger it becomes, this is a wine that will need a little more decanting, it doesn’t require it, it is charming once you pull the cork, but it builds and builds without ever losing its sense of polish or purity. This is a fantastic Rioja. I love how it has polish and presence but has not lost any identity. What a wine!