Wine Spectator - #1 Top 100 Wines 2020

100pts Falstaff

99pts James Suckling

Marvelous aromas of crushed berries, tobacco, cedar and mushrooms. Some dried cheese. Then turns to flowers. Very complex. Full and intense with fantastic depth and power. It goes on for minutes. It is a wine that exudes tradition but gives a sense of modernity with precise winemaking. Two years in oak, one in concrete and three or four in bottle. Drink on release and age onwards.

97pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

I had very high expectations for the 2010 Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial, and the wine delivered as expected. 2010 was one of the finest vintages in Rioja in recent years, and this blend of Tempranillo with 15% Mazuelo (Cariñena) has to be one of the finest modern day Castillo de Ygays. The grapes come from a plot planted in 1966 at 485 meters in altitude, the highest in the estate, and the vines yielded 3,500 kilos per hectare. The two varieties fermented separately in stainless steel for 11 days, and the wine spent 26 months in a mixture of American and French oak barrels. I tasted the 2009 next to this 2010, and I had also had a bottle two nights before.

97pts Vinous

Brilliant ruby. A hugely perfumed bouquet evokes spice-accented red and dark berry preserves, potpourri, pipe tobacco and vanilla, and violet and mineral accents emerge as the wine stretches out. Palate-staining blackberry, cherry-vanilla, cassis, fruitcake, mocha and candied licorice flavors show superb depth and clarity while hints of floral pastilles and Moroccan spices add complexity. Gains weight with air, with no loss of energy, showing powerful, spicy thrust on a strikingly long, gently tannic and floral-driven finish.

97pts Decanter

96pts Wine Spectator - #1 Top 100 Wines 2020

Maturing well, this round red is a lovely example of the traditional style. Orange peel, dried cherry, forest floor, vanilla and black tea flavors mingle harmoniously over round tannins and citrusy acidity. Generous but gentle, lively, balanced and harmonious. Tempranillo and Mazuelo. Drink now through 2030. 7,500 cases made, 680 cases imported.

94pts Wine Enthusiast - Cellar Selection

Earthy cherry, plum and cassis aromas are dry and complex, while this feels integrated and balanced. Cherry, red plum and cocoa flavors remain young and vibrant on the palate, while this pedigreed gran reserva offers its usual depth and length on the finish. Ten years in and this still has more in waiting. Drink through 2045.

Tasting Notes

A full and complex nose with black cherry and ripe plum aromas, cloaking hints of tea leaves, cedar wood and Mediterranean herbs on a background of dried flowers. Well framed and deep in the mouth, with polished tannins and full of nuances; harmonious and long-lived. “Another legendary Castillo Ygay vintage that brazenly challenges the passage of time”. María Vargas - Technical Director of Marqués de Murrieta.

Pair With: Wood pigeon braised in red wine, cocoa, black pepper and Iberian ham fat; wagyu sirloin tartare, capers jam and soufflé potatoes; pil pil hake cheeks, codfish crispy skin and candied crystal pepper; Moliterno cheese with black truffles, sour cherry jam and Castillo Ygay red wine.

About the Wine

Castillo Ygay is Murrieta’s flagship bottling. Sourced from a 98-acre plot planted in 1950, it is made only in top vintages. It’s a blend of mostly Tempranillo, which is aged in American oak barrels, with a small percentage of Mazuelo, which is aged in French oak. The wine is matured for a decade in the winery cellar before release.

The 2010 vintage is Rioja’s best so far this century. Rich yet harmonious, this wine should drink well for decades.

About the Vineyard

Castillo Ygay is always made from grapes sourced from La Plana, a 40-hectare (98- acres) single-vineyard, planted in 1950 and located on a plateau at the highest point of our Finca Ygay, at 485 metres above sea level.

Our vineyards are our history, our uniqueness and passion.

Our wines are born in Ygay, a estate of 300 hectares of vineyards located in the southern part of Rioja Alta, which enables us to obtain an exhaustive control of the quality of our wines.

Blend: 85% Tempranillo, 15% Mazuelo.