Spain · Jumilla

Bodegas Murviedro

Century-old Valencian winery in DO Utiel-Requena, farming Bobal on high-altitude chalk-clay soils and producing old-vine reds that carry the plateau's density and mineral grip.

The producer

Bodegas Murviedro is based in Requena, a hilltop town on the inland meseta of DO Utiel-Requena, about 70 kilometres west of Valencia's coast. Founded in 1927 as the Spanish operation of the Swiss Schenk Group, the winery spent its first seven decades as a bulk supplier before a deliberate turn toward branded estate production. The 2002 renaming placed the emphasis on Requena and its native grape rather than the corporate parent, and the Sericis range built around old-vine Bobal from identified chalk-clay parcels is the outcome of that shift.

Bobal is the plateau grape: thick-skinned, high in anthocyanins, adapted to dry summers at altitude between 700 and 900 metres, producing wines with deep colour and firm tannic grip. The Sericis Cepas Viejas takes that grape from old vines on the low-fertility Medio Dia soils, ferments at controlled temperature, completes malolactic fermentation, then ages eight months in new French Allier oak. The wine shows concentrated dark fruit, plum and bramble framed by cedar and toasty oak, with a mineral line from the chalk and tannins that are firm without being raw. Murviedro farms many of its vineyards organically and produces vegan wines without animal-derived fining agents across the full range.

Known for

Old-vine Bobal from chalk-clay meseta soils of DO Utiel-Requena, aged in new French Allier oak.

Notable facts

The story

The Cave Under Requena

In 2017, ninety years after the Swiss Schenk Group installed its first Spanish operation on the Utiel-Requena plateau, Murviedro cut back into the limestone beneath Requena's old town. The cellars they found had been carved from local tuba caliza long before mechanical refrigeration existed, relying entirely on the rock's thermal mass to keep wine cool through the fierce plateau summers. Nobody had used them for production in decades. Murviedro restored the chambers and returned them to work. The winery now runs both its modern temperature-controlled facility and these ancient rock rooms, the same geology that shapes the plateau's soils above ground continuing in the dark beneath the old town.

From the atlas

Bodegas Murviedro

At A Glance

Producer: Bodegas Murviedro Location: Requena, DO Utiel-Requena, Valencia, Spain Grape Focus: Bobal (reds and rosés), Merseguera (whites) Founded: 1927 Ownership: Swiss Schenk Group Key Bottle: Sericis Cepas Viejas Bobal

The Producer

Bodegas Murviedro sits in Requena, a hilltop town on the high inland plateau of DO Utiel-Requena, about 70 kilometres west of Valencia's coast. The winery was founded in 1927 as the Spanish operation of the Swiss Schenk Group, a European wine company established in Switzerland in 1893. For most of its first seven decades it operated under the Schenk corporate name, supplying wine from the plateau's Bobal vineyards into broader distribution channels. In 2002, on its 75th anniversary, it adopted the name Bodegas Murviedro.

The name change was not cosmetic. It marked a deliberate turn toward branded estate production, with Bobal as the central argument. Today the winery farms many of its vineyards organically, produces vegan wines without animal-derived fining agents, and holds certified-organic status across select product lines. The flagship Sericis range leads the quality tier, topped by a Cepas Viejas Bobal from old vines on chalk-clay soils.

Place

DO Utiel-Requena occupies an elevated meseta in the province of Valencia, at altitudes between 700 and 900 metres above sea level. The inland position and the height together produce a continental climate inside what is otherwise a Mediterranean country: hot days, cool nights, and winters sharp enough to force the vines into genuine dormancy. The diurnal range protects natural acidity in the grapes at a latitude where flat coastal vineyards would lose it.

Requena is the main town of the denomination and the centre of Bobal cultivation. Bobal is a native thick-skinned red grape, high in anthocyanins, adapted to the plateau's dry summers and stony soils. It produces wines with deep colour and firm tannic grip. Murviedro also holds certification in DO Alicante to the south, extending its reach beyond the Utiel-Requena plateau.

Soil And Site

The old-vine Bobal parcels used for Sericis Cepas Viejas come from the area called Medio Dia, where soils are chalk and clay with very low organic content. Low-fertility soils push the vines to produce small crops of concentrated grapes rather than high volumes of dilute fruit. The chalk fraction contributes to the wine's firm acidity and pale mineral tone on the finish. In 2017, Murviedro recovered a historic winery in Requena's old town with cellars excavated directly from the local limestone tuff, the same geology that shapes the plateau's character underground.

Story

For 75 years the winery operated as a Spanish subsidiary, its name tied to its Swiss parent. The 2002 renaming to Bodegas Murviedro did more than update the letterhead: it placed the emphasis on Requena and Utiel-Requena as the source of value, rather than on the Schenk distribution network. The winery began investing in quality-positioned ranges, building the Sericis label around Bobal from old vines on identified parcels.

The 2017 cave recovery accelerated that repositioning. By restoring and returning to use a pre-industrial cave cellar carved from limestone beneath the old town, the winery connected its modern production to the region's physical geology in a concrete way. The caves exploit the rock's natural temperature stability, the same principle that drove their original construction before mechanical refrigeration existed. Murviedro now operates both its modern facility and those ancient chambers.

Organic farming across many vineyards, vegan winemaking protocols for the full range, and certified-organic status for select products are documented practices at the winery.

Vineyards And Cellar

Bobal from the Medio Dia parcels is fermented at controlled temperatures, then undergoes malolactic fermentation to soften the acidity and round the palate. For Sericis Cepas Viejas, the wine then ages eight months in new French Allier oak barrels. Allier oak, from the forests of central France, contributes vanilla, toast, and gentle spice at a finer grain than American oak; eight months is enough to add those cedar and toasty notes without overwhelming Bobal's dark-fruit core.

Across many vineyards, Murviedro has moved to organic cultivation using biodynamic methods, avoiding synthetic herbicides, pesticides, and fertilisers. The winery also recycles glass and cardboard and operates a modern filtration system. Vegan winemaking eliminates egg white, casein, and other animal-derived fining agents at every stage.

Wines

Bobal drives the red and rosé ranges. The grape's thick skins give the wines their deep, almost inky colour and the firm, grippy tannins that define the palate. At entry level, Bobal from Utiel-Requena delivers dark cherry, bramble, and dried herb. The Sericis tier sharpens that fruit into a more concentrated register: old vines on chalk-clay soils produce lower yields, and the resulting wine is denser, with plum and dark bramble fruit, a spice edge, and toasty oak from the Allier barrels. The tannins on Sericis Cepas Viejas are firm but woven in rather than raw.

Merseguera whites from the plateau are lighter in body, aromatic, and shaped by the altitude's cool nights. Murviedro also produces Cava, the Spanish sparkling wine with its own national denomination. Certified-organic lines run across several tiers of the range. Specific wine names beyond Sericis Cepas Viejas Bobal are not confirmed in the verified sources.

In The Glass

Sericis Cepas Viejas Bobal opens with dark fruit: plum, bramble, and a thread of dried spice lifted from the glass before the oak registers. The toasty, cedar note from the Allier barrels arrives at the back of the nose and carries into the mouth. On the palate, the wine sits on a structured frame built from Bobal's naturally high tannins. Eight months in new oak integrates those tannins rather than adding to their grip, so the finish is firm and mouth-coating without being harsh. The chalk-clay soils contribute a mineral line under the fruit. The finish holds the dark-berry flavour alongside that dry, slightly earthy mineral note and the faint cedar of the oak.

Whites from Merseguera are lighter, with fresh orchard fruit and a clean finish shaped by the plateau's altitude and cool nights.

A Bottle To Understand It

Sericis Cepas Viejas Bobal is the bottle. It is 100% Bobal from old vines on the Medio Dia chalk-clay soils of Utiel-Requena, fermented at controlled temperature, through malolactic fermentation, and aged eight months in new French Allier oak. The wine puts the plateau's distinctive grape, its native soils, and the winery's cellar decisions in one glass: concentrated dark fruit, integrated toasty oak, firm chalk-supported tannins, and a finish with mineral length. Start here to understand what Bobal from high-altitude Utiel-Requena can be.

Anecdote

In 2017, ninety years after the Swiss Schenk Group installed its first Spanish operation on the Utiel-Requena plateau, Murviedro's team cut back into the limestone beneath Requena's old town. The cellars they found had been carved from the local tuba caliza long before mechanical refrigeration existed, relying entirely on the rock's thermal mass to keep wine cool through the fierce plateau summers. Nobody had used them for production in decades. Murviedro restored the chambers and put them back to work. The winery now runs both its modern stainless-steel and temperature-controlled facility and these ancient rock rooms, the same geology that shapes the plateau's soils above ground continuing its work in the dark beneath the old town.

Final Word

Bodegas Murviedro is the largest and oldest continuous operation in Utiel-Requena, and Sericis Cepas Viejas Bobal is the clearest argument it makes for the plateau's potential: a native grape, old vines on poor chalk-clay soils, careful cellar work, and a wine with enough concentration and mineral grip to hold its own alongside better-known Spanish reds. The 2002 rebranding and the 2017 cave recovery mark two moments when a Swiss-backed corporate producer chose a slower, more rooted path. Bobal repays that attention.

Sources

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