Vicente Dalmau
Under the guidance of Vicente Dalmau, Marqués de Murrieta’s wines are innovative while still respecting the traditions of years gone by.
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."