Marqués de Murrieta Reserva Rioja 2004

Can't offer much beyond what Greg mentioned above. Sweet, complex, and mineral. Me encanta!

• Tags:
• complex
• mineral

February 2009

A nice round kind of creature, saddle up, horseradish, wooded door with copper handle, I think of a Spanish villa in the early 20th. Low on fruits, solid tannins, nice citric spike. It has the appeal of your grand-pappy's war-chest. What treasures will you find?

February 2009

The personality and style of our 300-hectare Ygay Estate, located 400 meters above sealevel, is expressed in a single wine. Made from Tempranillo, Garnacha and Mazuelo,this wine embodies ripe fruit qualities with a perfect balance of acidity and suppleroundness on the palate, with just a hint of new oak. Our Red Reserva is a traditionalRioja with the classic Murrieta signature and enjoys all the benefits of modernwinemaking philosophy, equipment and techniques.

Marqués de Murrieta is traditional producer from the Rioja region of Spain, making wines of a classic style that are age-worthy. This Reserva, made from Tempranillo, Graciano, and Mazuelo, exhibits cedar, cigar box, and bright red fruit flavors, with lively, sweet tannins on the finish.

"The 2004 Reserva (of which there are a mere 80,000 cases) is a blend of 91% Tempranillo, 6% Garnacha, and 3% Mazuelo aged for 22 months in a mix of new and used American oak. Medium to dark ruby-colored, it offers up a stylish bouquet of cedar, leather, tobacco, spice box, and blackberry. Medium-bodied, nicely balanced, and succulent, this ripe, tasty wine from a superb vintage will evolve for 3-4 years and perform at its best between 2011 and 2019. It is a very good value in the classic Rioja style...89" WA 5/08

The grapes are first de-stemmed and then fermented in temperature controlled, stainless steel tanks for 8-11 days, with constant skin contact, at 25C. During fermentation the wine is both pumped over the cap of grape skins at the top of the tank (remontage), and also the cap is pressed into the fermenting wine every second day (pigeage). Both these processes ensure maximum color and aroma, without producing excessive tannin. Afterwards the solid parts of the grapes are pressed in vertical wooden presses with double screws. This is a smooth and slow treatment that favors the extraction of the read more...colour and tannins that reside in the skin of the grapes.    (hide)

October 2009