Rooted in strong, historical foundations, iconic Spanish wine brand Marqués de Murrieta is confident it can remain just as relevant to the modern-day consumer as it has been for more than a century. Vicente Dalmau Cebrián-Sagarriga sits at the helm as CEO and has grand plans for the future of the family-owned company and its two wine estates—its red varieties are produced in the Rioja region, and whites in Galicia, under the Pazo de Barrantes brand.
The 300-hectare Rioja site was founded in 1852 by Luciano de Murrieta, a man who had studied viticulture in London and quickly fell in love with the industry. Upon returning to Spain, he looked for an appropriate site to start a project, and Rioja was it. He passed away in 1911 but the winery remained attached to his family until 1983, when the Cebrián-Sagarriga family decided to invest in the thriving asset, taking full ownership.
“In 1996, my father, who had bought the winery 13 years before, died really young; he was only 47 years old,” Vicente recalls.
“I was just 25 and destiny left me on my own leading this project. The beginnings were not easy; it was quite difficult as I had lost a key member of my family and the key member of a big group of companies which were predominantly related to the wine industry.
“For two years I was just listening and watching, trying to define what I was going to do. I had recently finished my law and business administration studies at Universidad de Navarra and so decided I would begin a new project and make investments to develop the wine estates. Nineteen years on and things are going really well.”
