The evolution of Rioja wine
THE WINERY
When you have become a classic, there is only one way ahead – innovation. That is the philosophy of Bodegas Murua, That is the philosophy of Bodegas Murua. A winery that is committed only to exquisite quality, to be environmentally sustainable as demonstrated by its SWfCP certificate, a winery in which the yield of the vineyard is very low and the level of self-demand is very high.
That is how we wake up every morning at Murua, with very clear goals and focusing all our human and technological resources on a single aim: constant improvement, to continue making the best wines we could ever have made.
That is the way Bodegas Murua has worked since the Middle Ages at Elciego, in the Rioja Alavesa region, on the evolution of Rioja wine to conquer palates and markets, especially since the winery became part of Masaveu Bodegas in 1974.
THE LANDSCAPE
A total of 51 own plots of different varieties make up more than 80 hectares that Murua owns in Rioja Alavesa (Elciego, Laguardia, Villabuena de Álava, Leza, Lanciego and Navaridas). Divided into eight areas with different varieties depending on the “territori”, orientation, exposure to the sun, etc., the plots are located around the winery, where they evolve before our eyes and under our caring hands.
MASAVEU Bodegas
Masaveu Bodegas comprises four wineries corporations owned by Corporación Masaveu: Bodegas Murua, Bodegas Fillaboa, Bodegas Leda Viñas Viejas y Pomaradas y Llagares de Sariego (Valverán), located in different enclaves scattered around Spain, each with strongly distinctive wines, soil and soul.
In 1974, under the stewardship of Pedro Masaveu Peterson, the Masaveu family made its first investment in the industry with the purchase of the “Bodegas Murua S.A.” winery, following in the steps of their ancestor, Don Federico Masaveu Rivell, who already owned vineyards in the mid 19th century in Castellar del Vallés (Barcelona), where the family originates from.
Initially, “Bodegas Murua S.A.” was purchased with the aim of making wine privately, out of the family’s passion for wine and its links with the wine-making world. Following the decease of Pedro Masaveu Peterson, he was succeeded as chairman by Elías Masaveu y Alonso del Campo, who decided to restructure the winery and start marketing the quality wines it was produced.
It was in 1998, when he took over the helm of the wineries, that José Masaveu Herrero organised, streamlined and started to professionalise their operations. Once again, it was the Masaveu family’s passion and feeling for the worth of wine that led one of its members to devote himself body and soul to the wineries, an effort that he has carried on to this very day.
The wines made by Masaveu Bodegas are renowned as a benchmark of quality and an example of respect for the soil. While all our wines have their own unique style and a very distinctive character, at Masaveu Bodegas we try to ensure that they all stand for the same commitment: our commitment to quality as an underlying philosophy and as the force driving our conduct in all spheres and processes of the production cycle.
We believe that the high quality of a wine begins with the control of the production process and its raw material, something contrary to large productions. This is why our winemakers are also viticulturists and our wineries produce exclusively with their own vineyards.
Production from our own vineyards and the commitment to transmit the personality of the terroir in each bottle—that is, the area from which these wines come, granting them authenticity—connect each of the projects that, spread across the Spanish geography, form a suggestive mosaic of varieties, colors, aromas, and flavors.
