Marques de Murrieta Capellania White 2018 (750ml)
Product price
Description
Marqués de Murrieta's Capellanía is a single-vineyard Viura from Rioja, sourced from a six-hectare plot planted in 1945 and named for the wine itself. The 2018 vintage fermented in concrete, then aged in neutral French oak for 22 months before returning to concrete for seven additional months, a lengthy élevage designed to build structure while preserving the varietal's essential character.
The wine opens with salty sea air and dried white flowers, followed by grilled lemon peel and a whisper of lemon curd. On the palate, tart mandarin, smoky flint, and grilled citrus dominate, with that saline maritime quality threading through. The texture is soft and clean, the acidity bright, the balance between fruit and oak seamless. This is an elegant, mineral-driven white that shows both refinement and aging potential, ready to enjoy now but destined to evolve further in the glass and the cellar.
Product Details
| Category | Wine |
| Color | White |
| Country | Spain |
| Region | Rioja |
| Varietal | Macabeo (Viura) |
| Producer | Marques de Murrieta |
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Size | 750 ML |
| Subtype | Still |
Expert Reviews
Named for the single vineyard from which it is sourced, the Capellanía is a gorgeous Viura from old vines planted in 1945. A mixed bag, the winter was cold and rainy, followed by a sweltering summer; the wine, though, is impeccable in its fresh and saline spirit. The Capellanía is fermented entirely in concrete and then aged in neutral French oak for 22 months before going back into concrete to finish for seven more months. This wine is marked with a filagreed minerality; salty sea air aromas lead the way, followed by dried white flowers, a note of grilled lemon peel and a surprising peek of sweet lemon curd. The palate offers tart mandarin pulp, smoky flint, grilled citrus and a salty hint of sea air. It's a gorgeous wine at six years old and will only evolve further.
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.