1978 Marques de Murrieta Castilla Y'Gay Rioja Gran Reserva Especial

(93 points) The 1978 Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial spent 18 years in barrel and 10 years in bottle prior to release. It still has a deep cherry red color along with an aromatic array of underbrush, brier, tobacco, incense, and blackberry. It has slightly sweeter fruit and livelier acidity than the 1994. This lengthy effort is at its peak now where it should remain for another 20 years.

Marques de Murrieta is a family owned bodega impeccably run by V. Dalmau Cebrian-Sagarriga who took over from his father in 1996. The estate owns 741 acres of vineyard and is in the process of making dramatic improvements to the physical plant. The Bodega manages to straddle the traditional style with the Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva and the modern style with Dalmau. A bit of white wine is also produced but now in a modern style unlike the white wines described below. During my visit to Marques de Murrieta in May 2010, Senor Cebrian-Sagarriga was kind of enough to open a number of venerable bottles to demonstrate the estate’s history. eRobertParker.com # 189 Jun 2010