Marques de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 2010

Lobenberg: Die Kombination von ungeheuer viel Zug, leichter Tanninschärfe und lebendiger Säure mit weicher, aromatischer, sehr reifer und feiner Frucht macht diesen Wein zu einem der großem Klassiker der spanischen Weinwelt. Ungeheuer finessereich und zarte Erotik, eine verspielte Tänzerin. Tondonia, La Rioja Alte und Ygay, das sind zu Recht die ganz großen alten Namen der spanischen Weinwelt. Eine Nachverkostung Ende 2021 bestätigte nochmal diesen Ygay Gran Reserva als eines der "all times" Highlights des historischen spanischen Weinanbaus. Ich habe sehr sehr wenig Besseres in der historischen Rioja probieren dürfen. Verträumt und soooo trinkig dazu! 100/100

Falstaff: Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, dezente Randaufhellung. Feine Minze, feine schwarze Kirschen, feine Kräuterwürze, frische Herzkirschen, mineralisch und einladend, ein facettenreiches, junges Bukett. Saftig, komplex, elegante, extraktsüße Textur, feine runde Tannine, reife Herzkirschen, zarter Nugat, bleibt minutenlang haften, enormes Zukunftspotenzial. Einfache Rechnung: kaufen, was geht. 100/100

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. 99/100

Parker: 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. So, I was able to compare this with the 2009, which was a very different year, as 2010 was a cooler year and a priori a more adequate year for long-aging wines like this Gran Reserva. The difference was the vegetative cycle, as the vinification and élevage was the same. This is sleeker and sharper, less developed and livelier than the 2009, which already shows some signs of "old wine" with aromas that remind me of the old classical Rioja reds. It has greatness and finesse and is a very attractive wine with all the stuffing and balance that is needed for a long (and positive) aging in bottle. This is one of the finest modern day vintages of Castillo Ygay. This is going to develop in the direction of the classical bottlings from yesteryear. 97/100