To be classified as a “Reserva”, a wine must spend one year or more in oak, followed by two or more in bottle. Fruit for Marqués de Murrieta’s Reserva is hand-harvested from the Ygay Estate on the southernmost point of Rioja Alta, some 320 to 485 metres above sea level. Predominantly Tempranillo, with the remainder composed of Graciano, Garnacha, and Mazuelo (also known as Carignan). Hand-harvested fruit is de-stemmed and fermented in cool stainless steel, then pressed in a vertical press – a gentle means of extracting juice. The wine spends 16 months in new and neutral American oak barrels, then nearly a year and a half in bottle prior to release.

“Subtle rusticity paired with assertive elegance, in a wine that marries subtle minerality with chalky tannins and poised, crunchy fruit. It’s vibrant throughout, with acid verve holding the rich, robust black fruit at the core. Long finish, with a spicy lining.”
95 points, Ines Salpico, Decanter, March 2025

“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.”
94 points, Luis Gutierrez, Wine Advocate, February 2024