1978 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial- Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alavesa, Rioja (7/6/2012)
– cork pulled and small pour (1/2 oz.) taken out approx. 1 hour before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over approx. 2 hours; used a Pinot glass –
– 75% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha, 12% Mazuelo, 3% Graciano –
– T/A: 6.30; pH: 3.25; r.s.: 2.0 g/L –
NOSE: gentle red cherry and strawberry Twizzlers aromas; moderate oak; wood furniture polish; savory/faint herbal tones. Overall, very smooth, complex, and engaging.
BODY: clear; garnet core with moderate bricking throughout; color is of moderate depth; medium bodied.
TASTE: very smooth; cherry fruit; smooth leather furniture; improves with air; very smooth; excellent acidity; smooth anise tone; 13% alc. not noticeable; not funky; not drying out; fruit is somewhat sweet-tasting (but not r.s. sweet); no noticeable tannin; this particular bottle seems to be firmly in its prime drinking window, and is more advanced than two other bottles I’ve had of the same wine during the past year. This bottle suggests a strong Drink Now recommendation, whereas previous bottles strongly suggested a Drink/Hold recommendation. Interesting little fact: this wine spent an astonishing 216 months in barrel (225 L American oak). Thankfully, this did not come across as overly-oaked. Discreetly amazing wine.
NOSE: noticeable tawniness; smells much older than did previous bottles of the same; spicy (cumin); celery seed; old wood furniture; anise seed.
BODY: noticeable bricking throughout; medium bodied.
TASTE: no tannin; baked cherry; leather; this bottle is on its downslope; 13% alc. well-hidden; a touch sherried; past peak, but still quite nice; high acidity; got better over a couple hours — less oxidation, somehow. There’s some frustrating bottle variation with this wine, as good bottles are not yet at peak and less-than-good (bad?) bottles are past peak.
NOSE: expressive; red-fruited; smoky leather/mineral; hint of bitter florals – dandelion; hint of oxidation/tawniness present, but this aspect did become less intense over the course of three hours; nice complexity.
BODY: clear; medium-light bodied.
TASTE: high acidity; initially has a tawny streak to it, which suggested that it may be on the wrong side of peak, but – just as it did aromatically – this note receded over time; clean; medium-light oak; red-fruited at the core, but the acid did initially bowl-over the delicate fruit flavors; improved over the first hour; clean red fruits; hint of leather; some very fine tannins on the front palate; alcohol not noticeable; fantastic pairing with roasted chicken w/2 lemons and roasted root vegetables; this wine is probably at, or slightly past, its peak, so Drink Now and over the next few years — it seems an hour-long decant is helpful if opening now.
