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Meet the winemaker – Javier Murúa of Bodegas Muriel


Meet the winemaker – Javier Murúa of Bodegas Muriel
Bodegas Muriel was set up by José Murúa in 1926 and is today run by his son Julián and grandson Javier. We caught up with Javier to find out more.
Do you remember when & how you first began working with Averys?
I would think around 15 years already, time passes by fast…
Can you tell us a little about the history & winemaking philosophy at Bodegas Muriel?
My grandfather began making wines in Elciego at the beginning of the 20th century and supplying the restaurants in the Vasc Country. There has been quite an evolution since then and our range of products, as well as our markets have expanded a lot. We like the wine diversity, same as consumer diversity. But we feel each wine has its origin and purpose. We are very committed with the roots, and respectful with the traditional wine styles but we also consider consumer profiles which is why our range is quite wide. We also try minimum intervention in the vineyards and winemaking.
You may be best known for your Riojas but you also own a number of other wineries around Spain, hence our new Conde de Cron Albariño. Can you tell us more about this wine?
Rioja is where we are born and where our business began but being immersed in wine we are aware of diversity in all aspects of wine. Albariño in Rias Baixas is a very defined wine, quite unique in the world and with an incredible connection to Spanish gastronomy. Also it has great aromatic potential, with good weight and crispness.
Our customers probably known you as the man behind our ever-popular Conde de Cron Tinto & Blanco. What was the idea behind these wines?
The main ideas behind Conde de Cron are quality, consistency and value. We want to give customers  an affordable wine which is reliable as their house wine.


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