In 2022, Muriel Wines launched an ambitious project with the aim of creating pure, unpretentious wines that could speak to an audience of wine lovers eager to discover fresh interpretations of Spanish wine traditions. Stripped of any artifice and able to underscore life’s moments of pleasure and shared enjoyment, Viña Eguía Varietales are a collection of modern classics that capture the essence of their respective terroirs and grape varieties. By offering transparent expressions of different Spanish appellations, they defy some of the stereotypes attached to these regions, and evoke the true origins of winemaking traditions. ‘Eguía’ is the basque word for truth and this is the fundamental concept that shapes the project’s ethos.
The launch coincided with the release of Viña Eguía Varietales’s first DOCa Rioja labels: three two-grape blends (Tempranillo Blanco & Viura, Tempranillo & Mazuelo, Garnacha & Graciano) and a three-varietal Rosado from Garnacha, Viura and Mazuelo grapes. While the project’s core focus remains the Rioja DOCa, in all its complexity and diversity, the project has since grown and evolved. The evolution has been twofold: on the one hand the core Rioja range has diversified itself across two tiers; on the other hand, Viña Eguía Varietales expanded its reach to three other iconic Spanish wine regions.
Rioja’s different faces
Ten single-varietal wines build the foundation of Viña Eguía Varietales Riojan line up: Viura, Tempranillo Blanco, Malvasía Blanca, Maturana Blanca and Garnacha Blanca, are the five whites; Tempranillo, Garnacha, Maturana Tinta, Graciano and and Mazuelo are the red counterparts.
Alongside these pure expressions of the appellation’s most representative grapes, four blends highlight their historical complementary nature. Viura & Tempranillo Blanco shows Viura’s fleshy aromas supported by the structure and texture of the white mutation of Tempranillo. Garnacha & Graciano offers a harmonious interplay of the varieties’ fruit and floral essences. Tempranillo Tinto & Mazuelo is a particularly balanced and elegant wine with a refined tannic framework built upon Tempranillo’s concentrated aromas and Mazuelo/Carigan’s refreshing earthiness.
The new Garnacha-Viura-Mazuelo rosé is a refreshing proposal designed for the pleasure of the table; a wine that plays with Garnacha’s aromatics, Viura’s refreshing lift and Mazuelo’s structure to deliver a gastronomic, vibrant pink pour.
Two premium Tempranillos, about to be released, stand out as the project’s flagship wines: Viña Eguía Cepas Viejas, produced with fruit from low-yielding historical vines; Tempranillo El Ciego, a distinctive and transparent snapshot of the iconic Rioja Alavesa village.
Beyond Rioja
Viña Eguía’s reach beyond Rioja started with a single-varietal Verdejo from Rueda. It delivers a fresh interpretation of the classical white grape, with a focus on texture, drinkability and food-pairing potential.
Further along the Duero river, the company explored the unique terroirs of Ribera del Duero and added a Tinta del País (the area’s individual phenotypic expression of Tempranillo) to the Viña Eguía range. The grapes hail from 13 hectares of estate-owned old vineyards in the villages of Pesquera and Curiel. Planted on poor, well-drained clay and chalk-rich soils, the vines yield fruit and balance concentration with freshness, delivering wines with filigreed aromas, fine tannins and age-worthy elegance. Muriel invested in new production facilities in Ribera del Duero, with the ideal conditions for barrel maturation, bottling and further ageing in bottle prior to release.
In Rías Baixas, meanwhile, Muriel has sought to capture the maritime soul of this unique region, kissed by the Atlantic, where the Albariño grape variety reigns supreme. In addition to the 150 hectares controlled directly by Muriel in the heart of the region, in the unique Valle do Salnés, less than 5 km from the Atlantic, the company has forged long-term partnerships with 350 growers. They tend to their small parcels – many of which have been in the same families for generations – with incredible passion and care. The goal of Viña Eguía is precisely to capture the essence of this connection to the land and pay tribute to the hard work of these passionate men and women. As Galicia’s flagship variety, Albariño was the inevitable choice when selecting the raw material to produce a Viña Eguía wine with the Rías Baixas DO stamp.
Viña Eguía Varietales has added a new chapter to Muriel Wines’ fascinating collection of projects, each telling a particular story of the passionate people and diverse terroirs of Spain. Staying true to the goal and ethos of the project, it has forged new possibilities for the future of Spanish wine and reinterpreted the fundamental traditions that have shaped some of the country’s most iconic regions.
About Muriel Muriel Wines started with Bodegas Muriel, its founding estate and brand, the first winery in Elciego, Rioja, established in 1926 by José Murúa Villaverde. It was re-established 60 years later, in 1986, by José’s son Julián Murúa, setting Muriel on the path that has led it to where it is today. In 2000, third generation Javier Murúa joined the company, bringing a new international outlook to its strategy. Muriel Wines is now an exciting collection of the many stories, people and terroirs that shape Spanish wine in its multitude of landscapes, varieties and styles. Its portfolio includes some of Rioja’s most recognisable names, such as Conde de los Andes, Viña Muriel, Muriel, Luis Alegre, Viña Eguía and Marqués de Elciego, an experimental winery that serves as a laboratory for experiments with grape varieties, blends, terroirs and ageing methods. Beyond Rioja, Muriel Wines has projects in Rías Baixas (Pazo Cilleiro) and Ribera del Duero (Valdecuriel), as well as one winery – Real Compañia – dedicated to the production of Vino de La Tierra.
Javier and Julián Murúa
