Castillo Ygay 1998 Gran Reserva Especial

Wine: Castillo Ygay 1998 Gran Reserva Especial

Winery: Marqués de Murrieta (Logroño, La Rioja)
Appellation / Region: D.O.Ca. Rioja
Varietals: 85% Tempranillo, 13% Mazuelo, 2% Garnacha
ABV: 13%
Winemaking

Grapes selected from the "La Plana" plot, located at the highest point of the Ygay Estate (485m elevation). Harvest began on October 24th. Grapes were hand-picked and transported in small crates. Fermented in stainless steel tanks under controlled temperatures. Maceration lasted between 11 and 15 days with daily pump-overs and punch-downs. The wine was aged for 41 months in 225-liter American oak barrels, followed by a minimum of 36 months of bottle aging in the winery’s cellars prior to release.

 

Tasting Notes:
 

Appearance: Bright, clear reddish-ruby with medium depth (capa); pristine and translucent. It shows luminous pomegranate and orange highlights with a broad, tawny (tile-red) rim.

 

Nose: Powerful and expressive. It hits with layer upon layer of toasted oak, smoke, and sweet spices (vanilla, nutmeg), alongside orange zest and fruit in liqueur. It gradually reveals notes of leather, barnyard, and English tobacco. As technically correct as it is uninspiring and devoid of emotion.

 

Palate: Round, soft, and heavily marked by vanilla, with a very precarious level of acidity. It gives an impression of overripe fruit—liqueur-like—that melts into a sweetness enveloping the entire palate. Candied and somewhat heavy after a few glasses. Short finish. The ensemble is well-executed and orderly, free of defects, but excessively predictable. Everything is in its place, yet the wine is weighed down by a lack of definition and a total absence of a future. A diminished Castillo Ygay, caught halfway between styles, which will surely please those approaching it for the first time but pales in comparison to the memory of what this legendary winery once was. A wine like this wouldn't even deserve Murrieta's "Reserva" label from the early 80s. Yet, it is marketed as a Rioja benchmark while the winery continuously raises prices. Here we have a modern-day "Retablo de las Maravillas"—a new vein of foolishness that, vintage after vintage, represents an offensive farce of collusion between critics, influencers, and the winery itself. Is it laughable? No, it’s a tragedy.

 

Personal Score: 85
Tasting Group Score: 87