2017 Marques de Murrieta 'Finca Ygay' Reserva Rioja

Winemaker Notes: Tangible proof of elegance, balance and constancy characteristic of the Marques de Murrieta Winery and its surrounding vineyards situated in the Ygay Estate, it is a red reserva wine with a balanced aging of two years in new and partly new American oak barrels and a year and a half in bottle. The result is an elegant wine that combines complexity and fineness, summing up the best attributes of our identity and actuality. Marques de Murrieta is more than a brand in the international market, it represents age-old wisdom expressed in one of the most recognized wines of Spain. With our daily work, respect and love for our land, the selection of the best grapes and the attention to detail throughout its almost four years of production, Marques de Murrieta is a safe and constant value of the best quality.

Pair with baked red snapper with grilled vegetables, white wine, apple, lime and rosemary; Cameros truffle with mushrooms, and cabbage with extra virgin olive oil; Milk-fed lamb chops with buttermilk, asparagus and red wine; and suckling pig confit with its crunchy skin and caramelized apple.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM


James Suckling - " Incredible depth and intensity on the nose with chocolate, walnut, blackberry and wet-earth aromas. Some iodine, too. All this follows through to a full body with very silky tannins that give the wine depth and length. It’s really framed beautifully. Reserved and tight at the finish. A terrific wine for the cellar. Give this three to five years to open. "


Decanter - "A great classic, with a unique Rioja character, bursting with chewy red fruits, counterpointed by minerality. Reconciling power and finesse, pleasure and style. Warm and intense. Benchmark for wines of style, high-end brands. Leaves a vibrant memory."


Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - "The red 2017 Rioja Reserva is their flagship wine, of which they produce 900,000 bottles exclusively from grapes from their 300 hectares of estate vineyards. It's a blend of 83% Tempranillo, 9% Graciano, 6% Mazuelo (Cariñena) and 2% Garnacha and has the character of the vintage, ripe and warm but without excess. The varieties fermented separately, even different plots fermented separately, and they also aged in barrel on their own. The blend is done at the end, after 20 months in American oak barrels. 2017 was a challenging year that they still consider a better vintage than 2018, as they see more concentration and power. The wine is quite lactic and creamy, still showing very young. It does feel undeveloped and in need of some time in bottle. The wine has concentration and clout, and I always consider it an ultimate example of an updated classical Reserva from Rioja. 2017 was the earliest harvest (started and finished in September), a warm and dry year when the Ygay estate miraculously escaped the terrible frost that decimated most of Europe. The challenge for this wine was to contain the ripeness and power, and they have done it. This will be released in spring 2021, so it should be a lot more integrated by then. This is always a sure value. Volumes are lower this year."