Photo courtesy of Marqués de Murrieta

Rioja’s Greatest Wine
Gran Reserva Icon Status

There are Rioja Gran Reservas and then there is Castillo Ygay!

Castillo Ygay is a wine unto itself. A legendary wine of Rioja and Spain, the Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial with its iconic packaging is the one Rioja that every wine lover should have in their cellars.

The famed Castillo Ygay is owned by Marqués de Murrieta and today the estate, under the family leadership of Vicente Dalmau Cebrián-Sagarriga with his sister, Cristina Cebrián-Sagarriga, and winemaker Maria Vargas, is producing the finest wines ever from this 175 year old property. The 2010 Castillo Ygay was named Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year for 2020, shining a new global spotlight on this legendary wine.

However, at Marqués de Murrieta there is a bounty of great wine coming from the Finca Ygay estate beyond Castillo Ygay.  Dalmau and his team have quietly brought back over the last twenty years the Marqués de Murrieta Gran Reserva Finca Ygay to complement the range of wines and to showcase the diversity and depth of the vineyards across all of the Ygay estate.

Marqués de Murrieta's Rioja Gran Reserva is a limited edition wine from select barrels, created to last over time and only produced in benchmark vintages. The Gran Reserva represents the perfect balance between classicism and modernity. Crafted in the classic Murrieta signature style and enjoying all the benefits of modern winemaking philosophy, equipment and techniques.

Made from Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano, this wine embodies ripe fruit qualities with a perfect balance of acidity, supple roundness on the palate and a hint of new oak. The Marqués de Murrieta vineyards on the 741-acre Ygay Estate are located in Rioja Alta between 320 meters to 485 meters above sea level and are divided into the walled portion of the vineyard, Castillo Ygay, and the surrounding vineyards of Finca Ygay.

This is basically a baby Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva.  Made and treated the same way but coming from vineyard parcels at Finca Ygay that are outside the “Clos” of Castillo Ygay.  Beyond the differentiation in the vineyards, the major difference between these two Gran Reserva are when they are released onto the market.  Castillo Ygay today is held in bottle in the winery for years now before release, following the more long term resting in the bottle and cellar aging curve like Lopez de Heredia for instance.  Marqués de Murrieta's Rioja Gran Reserva on the other hand is released in a more traditional time frame after meeting the aging requirements of Gran Reserva.  Overall this gives us to tremendous wines with aging potential and diversity that are truly unique and enjoyable on release.  That is the beauty of Rioja Gran Reserva and this is a very much welcomed addition to the range at Marqués de Murrieta delivering a wine of exceptional pedigree for less than $75!

Cheers,
Jeremy

PS - It will be another two to three years before another vintage of Castilo Ygay Gran Reserva will be released as there is no 2013, 2014 or 2015 vintages!