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Castillo Ygay Blanco 1986

Castillo Ygay Blanco

1986
100
PARKER
99
PEÑÍN
100
SUCKLING
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£791.30

/ 0.75 L btl

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Spec sheet

TypeWhite wine
Region
Grapes
Producer
AllergensContains sulfites
Alcohol contenti13.5%
Production8,125 bottles

The wine

It's not at all extraordinary for a Spanish wine to obtain the coveted 100 Parker points, but if we're dealing with a dry white wine and not talking about a Sherry, the achievement of the Castillo Ygay Blanco Gran Reserva Especial certainly constitutes a historic milestone. In the words of Luis Gutiérrez, presiding over The Wine Advocate publication in Spain, the Castillo Ygay Blanco 1986 "is one of the best wines I’ve ever tasted". Moreover, in the same tasting referred to by Robert Parker's contributor, a vertical one with wines from 1919 to 1986, the 1919 and 1932 vintages also obtained 100 points. Marqués de Murrieta, one of La Rioja's oldest wineries (nearly 165 years old), is keeping alive an old tradition which dates back to its beginnings, namely the long ageing of white wines which used to mature for over twenty years until acquiring hues of old gold and amber. Ever since then, only the finest red and white vintages have displayed the Ygay label.

The Castillo Ygay Blanco Gran Reserva Especial 1986 is a marvellous white wine, with a reverence for the past shaping its future, made almost exclusively using grapes of the Viura variety, from very old vineyards lying at an altitude of around 400 metres. After 21 years in old 225-litre, American oak barrels and almost six in steel tanks, the Ygay GR Especial reposes for even longer, a further three years in bottle. The Viura grape, occasionally underrated owing to its restrained aromatic intensity, expresses like few others the terroir in which it grows and assumes to perfection the oak's fine points. The wine’s high acidity favours its ageing in bottle and portends a splendid future for it (50 years according to Gutiérrez).

If you figure among those fortunate enough to be uncorking one of the 8,125 bottles of this gem, be ready to find a powerful and elegant wine that's profound, mineral, oily and fresh, with no signs at all of tiredness; a dry, balsamic, spicy wine with hints of white and yellow flower petals, dried fruits and nuts, quince, bitter orange and incense. If it seems shy at first, be patient, it will gradually grow, hour after hour, indeed day after day, until it exhibits the sort of complexity only attained by genuine legendary wines.

In all probability, within a few years this 1986 will have no trouble in competing with other Murrieta historic vintages, but if you don't have enough patience to wait for that time, enjoy it now without any pangs of conscience; you'll not find a new vintage on the market for up to ten years.

What does this wine taste like?

View
Deep gold
Bouquet
Subtle / Green tea / Common mushroom
Mouth
Opulent / Elegant / Lively acidity / Voluptuous / Mineral

Drinking and storing

Serve between 14ºC and 15ºC

Food pairing

Iberian ham / Capon chicken / Grilled fish

Ratings and awards

1986100 PK99 PN100 SK
PK: ParkerPN: PeñínSK: Suckling

Customer reviews

5.0/5
1 review
Vintage:

Winemaking

Vinification materialWood
Ageing period252 months
Type of woodAmerican oak

Vineyards

Pago Capellanía

SoilCalcareous-clay
ClimateContinental
YieldsLow yields

The winery

Marqués de Murrieta

Marqués de Murrieta

Marqués de Murrieta is one of the most historic Spanish wineries. Its origins date back to 1852 when Luciano de Murrieta started trading his wines in the New World. Today, 170 years later, the impressive Ygay estate seems untouched by the passage of time, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Nowadays, Vicente D. Cebrián-Sagarriga, the present Count of Creixell, manages the winery with his sister Cristina and a skilled young team which understands how to...

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