MARQUES DE MURRIETA RIOJA CASTILLO YGAY GRAN RESERVA ESPECIAL 2010

From the legendary La Plana single vineyard in Rioja, perched 485 meters above sea level, Castillo Ygay 2010 represents the pinnacle of Spanish winemaking artistry. Meticulously crafted from 85% Tempranillo and 15% Mazuelo, this critically acclaimed wine (named #1 Wine in the World by Wine Spectator) reveals an extraordinary terroir through its carefully hand-harvested grapes. Aged for 24 months in French and American oak barrels, this remarkable vintage offers a complex symphony of flavors, inviting wine enthusiasts to decant and experience its full aromatic potential at a perfect 14-16°C.

James Suckling (99/100): A rich and opulent Ygay with ripe fruit, black truffle, nutmeg, spice and earth. It's full and very polished. Big and juicy with lots of tannins but they are integrated and savory. Juicy and flavorful. Round and polished. Chunky and savory at the end. Will age beautifully. Drink or hold.

Robert Parker (97/100): 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. 130,853 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2015.