Quinta da Muradella
Visionary Vigneron – José Luis Mateo returned to his native Verín in the early ’90s with a singular goal: to revive Monterrei through its native grape varieties and forgotten terroirs.
Terroir-Driven Complexity – Over 20 hectares of high-altitude, organically farmed plots reflect the region’s incredible geological and varietal diversity.
Minimalist, Masterful Winemaking – Spontaneous fermentations, minimal sulfur, and no set recipes: each wine is a living expression of its origin and year.
Cult Status, Quiet Impact – Quinta da Muradella has become a benchmark not only for Monterrei, but for a new wave of thoughtful, site-specific Spanish wines.
Quinta da Muradella – Monterrei’s Quiet Revolutionary
Hidden in the far southeastern corner of Galicia, just a few miles from the Portuguese border, lies Monterrei, a region long overshadowed by its better-known neighbors but now fiercely reawakened, thanks in large part to one man: José Luis Mateo. The founder and tireless soul behind Quinta da Muradella, José Luis has been quietly redefining Galician wine for over three decades. What started in 1991 as a humble personal mission to revive his family’s vineyard near Verín has evolved into one of Spain’s most cultish and revered wine projects.
Quinta da Muradella’s vineyards are scattered across an ever-evolving patchwork of steep hillsides and valley floors, rising up to 700 meters above sea level. The soils, a dazzling collage of slate, schist, granite, clay, and sand, shift dramatically from one parcel to the next, allowing José Luis to craft wines that pulse with mineral depth and energy. Indigenous varieties like Bastardo, Dona Blanca, Mencía, Treixadura, and the almost-extinct Monstruosa de Monterrei find a natural home here, farmed organically and increasingly with traditional bush training to adapt to the region’s changing climate.
José Luis is known for his obsessive attention to detail in both vineyard and cellar. No two vintages are treated the same. Fermentations are spontaneous, sulfur is used minimally, and no wine is ever rushed to bottle. Some of the most remarkable cuvées are fermented and aged in amphora or old oak barrels and bottled unfined and unfiltered. His cellar is small, rustic, and entirely in service to the vines. There’s no formula, only instinct—and it shows in wines of deep soul, natural texture, and haunting elegance.
Monterrei may be one of Spain’s smallest DOs, but in the hands of José Luis Mateo, its voice has become one of the most compelling in European wine today. These are wines that transcend their place and their categories, at once ancient and visionary, rugged and refined.