Libertad de Expresión 2018: the Signature Wine of Murillo Viteri

A name like that is not chosen by chance. Libertad de Expresión 2018 is the signature wine of Bodegas Murillo Viteri, the family winery in Cenicero that also makes a classic, long-aged Reserva.

Here the winery allows itself a different way of working. 80-year-old vines from a single estate, hand harvesting with a double selection and an ageing that combines new American oak barrels with classic ones.

The grapes are the same as in the rest of its reds: tempranillo, mazuelo and graciano. What changes is everything else, starting with the origin of every bunch.

In this guide you have what you need to understand and enjoy it: what a signature wine is in Rioja, where the grapes come from, how it is aged, how to serve it and which dishes bring out the best in it.

What “vino de autor” (signature wine) means in Rioja

For decades, quality in the DOCa Rioja was measured almost only by ageing time. The Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva categories tell you how many months the wine has spent in barrel and in bottle.

The signature wine comes from a different logic. The winery makes it its own way, without necessarily following those categories, and puts the focus on the vineyard, the selection of the grapes and an ageing designed to measure.

The appellation itself has moved in that direction. Since 2017, Rioja also recognises designations linked to origin, such as village wines and single vineyards, which speak of the site and not only of the barrel.

How to read the label: if a rioja does not carry the words Crianza, Reserva or Gran Reserva, it does not mean it has no ageing. It means the winery preferred not to use those categories. Look at the back label or the technical sheet to see how long it spends in wood.

The El Atajo estate and its 80-year-old vines

The grapes come from 80-year-old family vineyards, bush-trained, on the estate called “El Atajo”. It is a fact that weighs more than any adjective: very few vines in Spain reach that age in production.

An 80-year-old vine gives few bunches, often small and tightly packed. Its roots explore the soil very deeply, which lets it get through dry summers more steadily than a young vine.

The soil at El Atajo is calcareous, and the yield is around 2,500 kilos per hectare. To put the figure in context, the DOCa regulations allow up to 6,500 kilos for reds: here less than half of the permitted amount is harvested.

Working with a single estate has another advantage. The wine expresses one specific place, instead of the average of many different plots, as happens in reds from a broader range.

Tempranillo, mazuelo and graciano

The blend of varieties repeats the house’s Rioja formula:

• 85% tempranillo: provides the fruit, the colour and the backbone of the wine.
• 10% mazuelo: the variety known as cariñena in Aragón and Catalonia; it adds acidity and colour.
• 5% graciano: a scarce, hard-to-grow grape that gives freshness, spicy aromas and ageing potential.

These are three of Rioja’s traditional red varieties, along with garnacha and maturana tinta. Tempranillo blended with small doses of mazuelo and graciano is the historic basis of the great age-worthy riojas.

Harvest with a double selection

The harvest is by hand, with selection in the vineyard and on the sorting table. These are two successive filters so that only grapes in perfect condition enter the tank.

In the vineyard, the pickers discard bunches that are damaged, underripe or have health problems. At the winery, the grapes go through a sorting table, where they are checked by hand before reaching the tank.

It is slow, expensive work, because it takes more labour and more discarded fruit. In return, it removes green or faulty flavours that a mechanical harvest cannot separate.

Hand harvesting has an extra benefit you cannot see: the bunches reach the winery whole. That prevents the grapes from breaking and starting to ferment or oxidise too early.

The ageing of Libertad de Expresión 2018, in four stages

The ageing goes through several phases, each with its own role:

• 6 months in new 225-litre American oak barrels: the stage that sets the aromatic character.
• 6 months in classic barrels: already-used wood, which polishes the wine without adding as much flavour.
• 12 months in tank: to blend and stabilise the whole.
• 12 months in bottle: final rest before reaching the market.

During the ageing in wood, the wine is racked every month using the soutirage system, which separates it from its sediments by gravity, and it also receives two further rackings. It is artisan work that cleans the wine without filtering it aggressively.

The wood has its own story: the oaks come from the Appalachian Mountains, in Pennsylvania (United States), and the winery dries them and builds its barrels right there.

American oak has a long tradition in Rioja. Compared with French oak, it tends to contribute sweeter, more obvious aromas, such as vanilla, coconut or sweet spices, especially when the barrel is new.

That is why the second stage is so important. Moving to a used barrel, the wine keeps receiving a little oxygen, which softens the tannin, but the wood no longer gives up as much aroma.

Added together, the four stages give 36 months of ageing. It is the same total time the regulations require of a Reserva, with 12 of them in barrel, although the winery chose to present it as a signature wine.

Tasting note for Libertad de Expresión 2018

In the glass, stage by stage:

• Sight: dark ruby with deep colour, clean and bright, with violet reflections.
• Nose: intense, with the primary aromas of tempranillo and a very well-integrated American oak.
• Palate: natural, smooth and round.
• Finish: very persistent, lengthened by the acidity of the graciano and the mazuelo.

Violet reflections in a 2018 red speak of a wine that keeps its youth and colour, something common when the grapes come from old, low-yielding vines. And when the winery talks about “primary” fruit, it means the tempranillo still leads over the wood.

If you taste it slowly, pay attention to how the wood blends with the fruit. In a wine with six months in new barrels and another six in used ones, that balance is the key to the style.

How to serve it

For a red with this profile, the reasonable range runs from 16 to 18 °C. If the bottle comes from a warm cupboard, a few minutes in the fridge are enough to bring the temperature down.

Use a wide glass, for a full-bodied red. With a 2018 vintage and such old vines, it is best to open the bottle half an hour beforehand or pour it into a decanter.

Trick for a barbecue dinner: open the bottle while the fire is being lit. By the time the meat reaches the table, the wine will have had the air it needs without you having to decant it.

Pairing with dishes of character

It goes well with red meats, lamb, roasts, cured cheeses and traditional Mediterranean cooking. A red from old vines with American oak calls for dishes with flavour. Here are some specific pairings:

• Grilled beef chuletón: the char of the meat connects with the sweet notes of the wood.
• Stewed partridge or quail: small game and a concentrated red understand each other very well.
• Roast lamb shoulder: the classic oven roast, with just the right fat for a round red.
• Roast pigeon: an intense meat with deep flavour that the wine does not overwhelm.
• Entrecôte with roasted peppers: the sweetness of the pepper goes with the ripe fruit.
• Cured sheep’s cheeses: their intensity stands up to the structure of the wine.

Avoid raw vegetables, white fish and desserts. The sweetness of a dessert makes the wine seem more bitter and more alcoholic.

How to order it in a restaurant

If you see it on a wine list, do not look for it in the reserva section. Many restaurants place signature wines by winery or by area, not by ageing category.

Ask for it to be opened at the start of the meal, even if you are going to drink it with the main course. That time in the air does it more good than hurried service at the last minute.

And do not hesitate to ask for another temperature if it arrives warm. A concentrated red served at 22 °C loses freshness and gains an alcoholic feel.

Versus the house Reserva

Same winery and same grapes, but two philosophies. The Murillo Viteri Reserva bets on time, with 24 months in barrel and a long wait before reaching the market.

Libertad de Expresión bets on the vineyard: a single estate, 80-year-old vines and a double selection of grapes. Its ageing is shorter in wood, but with new American oak.

If you want to understand what an old estate brings compared with a long ageing, open both at the same meal. It is a very revealing comparative tasting and within reach of any budget.

Keeping

With four years of ageing across barrel, tank and bottle, the wine is ready to drink on release. Its origin in old vines and its structure allow it to wait a few more years in good condition.

Store it lying down, in the dark, away from vibrations and at a stable temperature, ideally between 12 and 15 °C.

Price and who it is for

The winery sells it online in a case of 6 bottles for €65, about €10.83 per bottle as an approximate price. For an estate wine from 80-year-old vines with a double selection, it is a very restrained figure.

It is also a limited edition of 14,000 bottles.

In a restaurant, a signature rioja of this profile usually sits in an approximate range of €25 to €40 on the list.

It is a wine for those who already know classic rioja and want to see what happens when a winery puts the vineyard ahead of the category.

Will you dare to open a bottle named like a manifesto and listen to what vines that have spent eighty years on the same estate have to say?