What's behind our Muriel Crianza 2019

Our iconic Muriel Fincas de la Villa Crianza is an honest, fresh and accessible expression of the vineyards in our village: Elciego, in Rioja Alavesa.

This is what we call the "macro-terroir": the sum of different plots around the village. By blending them harmoniously, we have succeeded in representing the style we were referring to.

Right now the 2016 vintage Crianza is on release. Meanwhile, the Crianza 2019 is starting to develop in the winery. There is still a long way to go before this wine completes its ageing process, but we wanted to focus on it to shed light on what it is like and to whom this Rioja Alavesa wine is aimed.

No secrets in winemaking: step by step, with rigour and security

The 2019 wine, fermented a few weeks ago, now rests in watertight, inert tanks. From here we extract different batches that, depending on their quality and various other criteria, will have specific destinations: young wines, wines for moderate ageing and wines for long ageing. Our focus lies on Crianza and Reserva, so the facilities are designed to make wines for long-term ageing.

Landscape on the outskirts of Elciego, looking towards the Ebro river. This mosaic of vineyards supplies us with the grapes to make the Muriel Crianza
After successfully completing the DOCa Rioja Regulating Council's analytical and organoleptic controls, the wine chosen to be Muriel Crianza 2019 will be aged for 12 months in oak barrels and later bottled. It will remain in the bottle for no less than 12 months, thus continuing a slow ripening process that will eventually smooth out the wine until it reaches the desired balance. It will be launched on the market towards the middle of 2022, at the start of its prime drinking moment.

What makes it special?

This production method is common to all Crianza wines in the DOCa Rioja, so consumers may wonder what makes Muriel Crianza different. The work in the winery is essential, but for us the cornerstone is and always will be the selection of plots, vineyards and grapes.

A considerable part of them come from our own vineyards in El Gallo and Garcimoracho, in Elciego, but most of them are grown by suppliers with whom we have a long working relationship. They are independent growers from the village itself and from neighbouring communities, in whom we trust 100%: they are serious, professional and deeply committed people, who understand that their grapes will contribute to making a good wine.

The outcome is this: quality and expressive fruit that, harvested with optimum yields, produces a balanced wine with good acidity and the estate's and the area's trademark freshness. And, above all, it is intended for today's consumers, who seek versatility, pleasure and peace of mind in their everyday wine. Our Crianza ticks all those boxes: an "uncomplicated" wine just like the one from this past vintage.