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Bodegas Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 1978

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1978 Vintage

179.99 USD

JJ Buckley Fine Wines

United States

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1978 Vintage

190.80 USD

Winerz.com

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1978 Vintage

214.98 USD

Liquorama Fine Wines & Spirits

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Bodegas Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial (1978)

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4 Star Rating

Starting at: $179.99
4 Reviews
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Winery:
Bodegas Marqués de Murrieta
Varietal:
Tempranillo
Region:
Spain > Rioja
Type:
Red Wine
Drink Dates:
Drink Now
UPC:
 

User Tags:  dried, tobacco, acidic, red, spices, smooth, firm, tea, berry, dessert wines 


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What to Expect

The Rioja region of Spain produces one of the world's finest, and most long lived wines: Rioja. Rioja's renaissance, in the latter half of the 19th century, was a direct result of the phyloxera bug that decimated vineyards around the globe. While English merchants came to Rioja to replace their French imports, the wines here actually have much more in common with Chianti. Both wines are blend relying heavily on one grape, in this case Tempranillo. Like Chianti's Sangiovese, Tempranillo usually produces a relatively high acid wine of medium to medium-full body. Tempranillo tends to produce wines with a dusty, leathery edge to its raspberry and blackberry fruit tones. With additions of Graciano, Mazuela and Grancha, the wines of Rioja can take on additional layers of flavor and aroma, but the tradition of extended oak aging for Rioja's great wines contributes to an even more obvious imprint. While the Spaniards have traditionally been fans of the strong vanilla and coconut components that American oak barrels have contributed to Rioja, more and more producers have turned to French oak favoring its more subtle spice tones. Rioja continues to undergo extended aging in barrel with Reserva and Gran Reserva bottlings, representing a producer's highest achievement, spending a minimum of 3 of 5 years respectively in the producer's cellar.

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Wine Advocate ReviewThere are just 1250 cases of the exceptional 1978 Gran Reserva Especial Castillo Ygay. Only in the greatest vintages (1917, 1925, 1934, 1942, 1952, 1959, 1964, 1968, 1970, and this 1978) is a portion of the wine held back for extended cask aging. The wine is a blend of 75% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha, 12% Mazuelo, and 3% Graciano aged for 216 months in American oak barriques. The wine was bottled in 1998. Medium ruby-colored, it has a super-expressive bouquet of cedar, leather, Asian spices, mineral, and assorted red and black fruits with the kind of complexity that only extended read more...


January 2009

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Snooth User: RobWinton
RobWinton
22

It is still, 30 years on, stunning, delicate, with cherry fruit, accented by tobacco, raisin and balsamic notes, and just velvety smooth and delicious.


June 2008

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Source: JJ Buckley
Fine Wines


Elegant and vivid, this red offers berry, raisin, spice, tea and tobacco flavors that float over firm tannins and tart acidity. Still lively, with distinctive character, it's a fine example of traditional Rioja. Drink now through 2010. 1,200 cases ma... Wine Spectator. A wine from Rioja in Spain. 1978 Marques de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 750ml


October 2009

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TM

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Rating: 91/100 - As reviewed by Wine Spectator on 05/31/04


 

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