The 2026 harvest is proving to be quite different. Earlier, faster-paced and more demanding when it comes to decision-making, but also marked by particularly positive news: the grapes are arriving at our wineries in excellent health, and the first wines are already showing very promising signs.
From the very beginning of the growing season, it was clear that this year’s timing would be far from usual. Vine development was significantly ahead of schedule, and that pace has continued throughout the season, making this one of the earliest harvests we have experienced at Muriel Wines.
“Since budbreak, we have seen a significant advance in the growing cycle, around 15 to 20 days compared with last year. This has meant harvesting on dates that would have seemed unthinkable just a few years ago,” explains Chema Ryan, winemaker at Muriel Wines.
This early development has been noticeable across the different areas where we work and has required particularly close attention in the vineyard. Because although we speak of a single harvest, each winery, each region and each vineyard plot follows its own rhythm.
By mid-September, the situation across the group clearly reflects this diversity. At Montalvillo, Conde de los Andes and Luis Alegre, the harvest is now virtually complete, while at Viña Eguía we are entering the final days of picking. At the rest of our wineries, the harvest continues to progress according to the timing and development of each vineyard.
High temperatures have undoubtedly been one of the factors that have most influenced this year’s harvest. They have accelerated ripening and required us to monitor the grapes very closely in order to determine the right moment to bring them into the winery. At the same time, these conditions have contributed to something Chema particularly highlights when assessing the vintage: the exceptional health of the grapes.
“The grapes are incredibly healthy and in excellent condition. The absence of fungal diseases has allowed them to remain in perfect shape, and we are very pleased with the quality we are seeing.”
The heat will also leave its mark on the wines. Faster ripening and higher sugar concentration suggest slightly higher alcohol levels than in other vintages. These conditions have required constant attention in the vineyard, as well as the ability to react quickly, anticipate changing circumstances and adapt both our working schedules and harvesting times accordingly. Closely monitoring the development of each vineyard plot has enabled us to respond to particularly demanding conditions in terms of temperature and ripening, and to make the right decisions at the right time.
But beyond the figures, what matters most now is what is happening inside the wineries. The first wines from the 2026 vintage are already beginning to reveal the results of months of work in the vineyard, and the initial impressions are very positive.
“We are very pleased with the quality of the first wines we have already made,” says Chema.
Such an early harvest also raises questions. The main one is whether this is an exceptional vintage or a reality that vineyards will increasingly have to face in the years ahead. There is no simple answer, but there is one idea that sums up how we approach this scenario at Muriel Wines.
“I don’t know whether this will continue to be the case in the future, but, as they say, we will have to adapt.”
Perhaps that is also one of the lessons of this harvest. The vineyard does not follow a fixed calendar. Every vintage requires us to observe, interpret and make different decisions. To understand each plot, follow its development closely and know when to wait — or when to move ahead — as circumstances demand.
The 2026 harvest is not yet over across the entire group, but it is already beginning to tell its own story: an exceptionally early vintage, shaped by the heat and by remarkably healthy grapes, arriving at our wineries with a level of quality that gives us every reason to be optimistic.
And now the next stage of the work begins: guiding those grapes through the winemaking process and gradually discovering what the 2026 vintage will become.
You may also be interested in:
