The 2016 Veguín de Murua Gran Reserve 2016, from Wineries Murua in Rioja Alavesa, has been recognized as the Best Wine of Spain and Best Tempranillo Wine at the 2025 Sommeliers Choice Awards held in Chicago, USA, where the country’s top sommeliers honor wines that stand out for their flavor, typicity, and value.
This award, granted by a select panel of sommeliers, wine directors, and Master Sommeliers from across the country, reaffirms Bodegas Murua’s dedication to producing exceptional wines that shine in the finest restaurants and hospitality venues in the United States.
According to Loretta Fernández, Export Director of Masaveu Wineries, the winemaking group to which Bodegas Murua belongs, “It is a great honor to be recognized at the Sommeliers Choice Awards, which highlight wines that stand out in restaurants, judged by the very professionals who shape the dining experience in one of the most competitive and experienced wine markets in the world: the United States.”
For his part, the General Director of this prestigious winemaking group, Masaveu Wineries, states that “this recognition, given by a panel that includes Master Sommeliers, validates our commitment to excellence in every bottle.”
The Sommeliers Choice Awards are a prestigious competition that evaluates wines specifically intended for the hospitality market. Wines are judged based on key criteria such as quality, typicity, drinkability, value for money, and packaging, providing sommeliers and beverage buyers with a reliable guide to the wines that truly deserve a place on a wine list, as it emphasizes wines that offer exceptional quality, value, and appeal in dining settings.
Veguín de Murua Gran Reserva is made from grapes of the Tempranillo variety (92%) and Graciano (8%), selected from very old, some even centennial, vineyards located at the foot of the Sierra de Cantabria, in the finest estates of Bodegas Murua. This premium wine is produced exclusively in exceptional vintages and in limited quantities. From the 2016 vintage, which was rated as very good, 13,785 bottles have been produced.
With an intense and bright garnet color, it stands out for its powerful nose, featuring fresh aromas of dry grass, mint, spices, and pleasant balsamic notes. It shows finesse, freshness, and harmony, with character. After some time in the glass, the “bouquet” reveals itself, with aromas of smoke, cinnamon, clove, oak, thyme, mint, and spicy notes. It ages for 24 months in new French and American oak barrels.
About Masaveu Wineries
The Masaveu family began investing in the winemaking sector in 1974, when they acquired Bodegas Murua, but the family’s vineyard plantings date back to the mid-19th century, specifically in Castellar del Vallés, where the family originates and where Federico Masaveu Rivell started the steps that a century later would be continued by his descendants.
Since then, Masaveu Wineries has grown steadily with a strong commitment to quality in the production of its wines across different DOs, embracing an ecological philosophy and utmost respect for the land, where it owns its own vineyards, allowing them to convey the unique personality of each terroir in every bottle. In this way, all of Masaveu Wineries’ projects across different parts and regions of the country come together under a common denominator: Murua (DOCa. Rioja), Fillaboa (DO. Rías Baixas), Leda (Wine of Tierra de Castilla y León) and Valverán (Asturias).
