Purchased at auction, opened for my 52nd birthday. Soggy cork, used an ah-so, still broke in half. Decanted. I had high hopes, based on the last few reviews, but this was (for me at least) way past its prime. Decanted for 6h and sampled throughout. Interesting camphor, cedary alcohol nose, on the palate stewed cranberry at first, then after a few hours the cranberries and sour cherries evolved into focus. Definitely tart, not my style, but which my wife appreciated - "it's not bad, it would be perfect for stew." So there you have it, very very expensive cooking wine. Looking forward to some really good boeuf bourgignon for dinner tomorrow night! For me this was super entertaining and academically interesting, but not an experiment I care repeating, at least not with another 50+ year old Rioja.
Drank well on opening. Great nose. Over 20+ minutes in the glass, turned sweeter and a bit port like. Not to my taste then though very drinkable and some liked. Great for 50 years but vs 5 other 68s it was middle of the pack for most. Better than the 68 CVNE but outshined by Napa -- Charles Krug and Heitz
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Much better than the last bottle of this tasted. Transparent bright orange brick color. Knockout nose of potpourri, heavy on the dried orange peel, tea, just classic Ygay. Palate has great juicy sweet cherry acidity, punchy, silken, and seamless, barely a hint of its true age. The most amazing aspect was how the flavor and acidity build and crescendo well after swallowing, just saturating every crevice with tangerine sweetness. Bottled in 1983 and released in 1987.
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Pristine bottle, popped and poured and followed over the evening... Beautiful, bright bouquet redolent of rhubarb, rose hips, smoked tea (Lapsang souchong), a whiff of caramel from oak, the nose gets sweeter with air. Complex aromatically. The palate is wonderful as well, quite intense from the bright acids, nearly tart, but balanced by pitch-perfect sweet cherry fruit. The texture is so silky, with a terrific finish. With air, a smoky note from the tannins develops. This shows so young, so clean, it holds up really well for 4+ hours. This transcends wine. Fantastic.
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A spectacular display, showing dried cherry, coco dust, hints of spice, parchment, musk and tete de moine. On the palate, I found a soft expression of resolved tannin with still-lively acidity giving way to dried cherry, dusty inner florals, and leather. It finished long with an acid twang and lingering notes of cherry.
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This is a 1987 release, having spent 13 years in US oak. Savoury nose with broad, lively and persistent mouthfeel - lots of sour cherry on finish. Lovely initially but didn't last well with air. Almost feels this is in gradual decline, certainly didn't seem to have the legs of the 64 or 59 drunk alongside. I would drink to 2030.
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Tasted blind. Immediately recognizable as traditional Rioja on the nose; leather, spice, incense, orange peel, american oak. Bright, actually sharp acidity, youthful astringency, needs some air. Cherry, raspberry, sawn wood, a beautiful emerging mature wine perfume that galvanizes my guess - this has to be Murrieta. Lovely, so Ygay. Older than I suspected.
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High intensity bouquet of ripe dark cherry and dandelion. A lot of aromas from the oak - caramel and vanilla. But the most dominating scent is fresh melted butter which is also found on the palate along with baked sour apples and burnt sugar. The tannins are definitely present but they are so perfectly rounded giving the wine a velvety and silky texture. Great balance and a long finish.
IG @365wines
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De color rubí rojizo de capa media-alta, muy estable e intenso, limpio, oscuro. Reflejos cobrizos y granadinos, brillante, con fuerte sensación de grosor. Borde atejado, casi yodado, amplio, marcado respecto al menisco.
Un tinto emocionante que transita por la cuerda floja, oscilante, haciendo equilibrios imposibles, arriesgado. En nariz es un compendio de elegancia y sutileza. Sobrevuela en copa, perfumado, etéreo, con aromas de pétalos marchitos, violetas secas, hierbas aromáticas (lavanda, retama) y granos de pimienta, granos de café. Se confirma poco a poco una nota complejísima de fondo a térreos, corteza de nogal, maderas finas, aceite de abedul, matrioshkas, cuero de rusia... No se acaba, sugerente, cambiante, de una complejidad absoluta. En nuestro caso acabó sacando una inédita nota dulzona que "dicen" recordaba al tabaco de pipa cavendish oscuro y a los virginia clásicos, con un punto licorizado muy de bourbon. ¿Se nota que tenemos un fumador de pipa en el grupo de cata? Dejamos unas horas abierta la botella para ver hacia dónde tiraba. Lustroso, descarnado, balsámico, mostrando una tempranillo en pureza, sin mácula de la madera.
Hay que beberlo a pequeños sorbos. De entrada vivísima, acidez estratoférica y redondez absoluta. Viste de Channel pero pisa muy fuerte. Testimonio de que hubo un tiempo mejor!!! Se confirma lo bien que están llegando casi todos los tintos del 68. Esta botella estaba tocada por alguna varita mágica y se ha apropiado de todas las virtudes del antiguo Château Ygay. Un vino más cerca del cielo que de la tierra. Flota sobre el alambre con total elegancia mientras los simples mortales infartamos de emoción. Se puede decir que incluso es superior al rocoso Castillo Ygay de 1964? Sin duda!!! Ya puedo decir que al menos una vez bebí uno de éstos!!!
Wine Info - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 70% tempranillo, 13% mazuelo, 12% garnacha, 5% graciano - 13% vol. Uvas procedentes del Pago la Plana, en la zona más alta de la Finca Ygay. Sin registros de vendimia. El vino fermentó en tinos de roble americano durante 30 días con bazuqueos y remontados manuales. Permanece durante 6 meses en grandes depósitos de madera (6.000-7.000 litros) en los que finaliza la fermentación maloláctica y se estabiliza antes de pasar a criarse en madera. Maduración a lo largo de 4 años en barricas semi-nuevas de roble americano de 225 litros. Tras esta crianza es trasegados a tinas de madera usada dónde realiza una nueva maduración durante 9 años y medio. Embotellado en enero de 1983, apenas unos meses antes del inicio de la comercialización del Castillo Ygay 1942 Reserva Especial. Un mínimo de 5 años de guarda en botellero en los calados de la bodega antes de ser comercializado. Oficialmente las primeras botellas se vendieron mediados del año 1988. El corcho es remplazado cada 20 años.
Edición especial etiquetada en 1987 con motivos navales para celebrar el periodo de instrucción del príncipe Felipe de Borbón en el "Buque Escuela Juan Sebastián de Elcano". - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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Mature, complex and long lasting. Not up with the 59, but not far behind. Drinking beautifully now, can not see any reason to cellar it more, although it can handle it well for a few more years.
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Sexto vino de la tarde. Mi segunda experiencia con esta añada. ¡Magnífico! ¡Menuda nariz! ¡Incluso Mazapán! Una textura acuosa, de nuevo, pero con una nariz increible: violetas, roas, todas las flores. Muy cárnico, de carne cruda. ¡Delicioso!
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Celebrating my sister 40th birthday with a 40 yo wine. Brown colour with orange edges. Kirsch, ripe sour cherries on nose. Smoky, chimney ash. Earthy. Oak well-integrated (cigar box). Little vetuste on palate; still good acidity but out of the limits, going to be a glorious vinegar. It is not a superb bottle (Sure it was) but we enjoyed anyway.
Celebrando el cuarenta cumpleaños de mi hermana con un vino de 40 años. Color marrón con bordes anaranjados. Kirsch, cerezas maduras agrias en nariz. Ahumado, ceniza de chimenea. Terroso y de madera bien integrada (caja de puros). Un poco vetusto en el paladar; todavía con una buena acidez pero fuera de los límites, yendo hacia un vinagre glorioso. No es una botella buenísima (lo fue, seguro) pero de todas formas la disfrutamos.
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Bright red with some brick out at the far end. A wonderfull smell of violets and cherry tones. Not much oak here. Taste is on the acid side ,red currant ,sour cherry.Some raisins.And a long aftertaste with nice ,finegrained tannins accompany the fruit acids. There is allso a notch "old Rioja" in this with thea leaves .THere is no point in decanter this and it still allive many hours upon opening. Is this really over 40 years old? Its amazing how much life there is left. anyone out there still have this it should be good for another decade or two!
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Just released by the bodega after 25 years. Light orange garnet coulour; the nose ethereal, lifted, refined, stately and calm - all rolled into one, vinous, quite a lot of vanilla, hint of stables, a quintessence of classic Tempranillo; smooth and supple, lovely hint of sweetness, perfectly harmonious and elegant, vanilla, vinosity, good fruit; exceptional length. Drink now - 2010+.
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1/27/2023 - GeirArneLangkas Likes this wine: 97 Points
This was an old, smooth, frendly and atletic type, not forgotten his dancemoves
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3/25/2021 - firstgrowth Likes this wine: 85 Points
A little cough syrupy but smoothed out for about an hour
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5/6/2020 - skurtz wrote: 87 Points
Purchased at auction, opened for my 52nd birthday. Soggy cork, used an ah-so, still broke in half. Decanted. I had high hopes, based on the last few reviews, but this was (for me at least) way past its prime. Decanted for 6h and sampled throughout. Interesting camphor, cedary alcohol nose, on the palate stewed cranberry at first, then after a few hours the cranberries and sour cherries evolved into focus. Definitely tart, not my style, but which my wife appreciated - "it's not bad, it would be perfect for stew." So there you have it, very very expensive cooking wine. Looking forward to some really good boeuf bourgignon for dinner tomorrow night! For me this was super entertaining and academically interesting, but not an experiment I care repeating, at least not with another 50+ year old Rioja.
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1/12/2019 - jdhannah Likes this wine:
Drank well on opening. Great nose. Over 20+ minutes in the glass, turned sweeter and a bit port like. Not to my taste then though very drinkable and some liked. Great for 50 years but vs 5 other 68s it was middle of the pack for most. Better than the 68 CVNE but outshined by Napa -- Charles Krug and Heitz
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2/2/2017 - andtheodor wrote: 96 Points
Much better than the last bottle of this tasted. Transparent bright orange brick color. Knockout nose of potpourri, heavy on the dried orange peel, tea, just classic Ygay. Palate has great juicy sweet cherry acidity, punchy, silken, and seamless, barely a hint of its true age. The most amazing aspect was how the flavor and acidity build and crescendo well after swallowing, just saturating every crevice with tangerine sweetness. Bottled in 1983 and released in 1987.
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2/2/2017 - blanquito wrote: 95 Points
Pristine bottle, popped and poured and followed over the evening... Beautiful, bright bouquet redolent of rhubarb, rose hips, smoked tea (Lapsang souchong), a whiff of caramel from oak, the nose gets sweeter with air. Complex aromatically. The palate is wonderful as well, quite intense from the bright acids, nearly tart, but balanced by pitch-perfect sweet cherry fruit. The texture is so silky, with a terrific finish. With air, a smoky note from the tannins develops. This shows so young, so clean, it holds up really well for 4+ hours. This transcends wine. Fantastic.
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12/12/2016 - SlimShaney Does not like this wine: 80 Points
Varnish on the nose. Tarnish on the palate.
A glass is an interesting sherryesque experience but more than a glass - no thanks.
Should add, it certainly is drinkable though.
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11/9/2016 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 94 Points
A spectacular display, showing dried cherry, coco dust, hints of spice, parchment, musk and tete de moine. On the palate, I found a soft expression of resolved tannin with still-lively acidity giving way to dried cherry, dusty inner florals, and leather. It finished long with an acid twang and lingering notes of cherry.
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5/3/2016 - JulianSkeels wrote: 94 Points
This is a 1987 release, having spent 13 years in US oak. Savoury nose with broad, lively and persistent mouthfeel - lots of sour cherry on finish. Lovely initially but didn't last well with air. Almost feels this is in gradual decline, certainly didn't seem to have the legs of the 64 or 59 drunk alongside. I would drink to 2030.
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12/27/2015 - andtheodor wrote: 93 Points
Tasted blind. Immediately recognizable as traditional Rioja on the nose; leather, spice, incense, orange peel, american oak. Bright, actually sharp acidity, youthful astringency, needs some air. Cherry, raspberry, sawn wood, a beautiful emerging mature wine perfume that galvanizes my guess - this has to be Murrieta. Lovely, so Ygay. Older than I suspected.
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7/16/2015 - fournet Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lively fruit, mellow tannins, long finish. Really nice wine in a good spot right now.
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11/29/2014 - Bobhelge wrote: 93 Points
High intensity bouquet of ripe dark cherry and dandelion. A lot of aromas from the oak - caramel and vanilla. But the most dominating scent is fresh melted butter which is also found on the palate along with baked sour apples and burnt sugar. The tannins are definitely present but they are so perfectly rounded giving the wine a velvety and silky texture. Great balance and a long finish.
IG @365wines
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3/6/2014 - Los 12 Glotones Likes this wine: 100 Points
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Els12golafres Wine Tasting Group: http://vinosclasicos.blogspot.com.es/2013/12/castillo-ygay-1968-gran-reserva.html
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Excelente corcho, inflado, como nuevo, ligeramente humedecido en la parte inferior por contacto con el vino. Seguramente reencorchado en bodega hace pocos años.
De color rubí rojizo de capa media-alta, muy estable e intenso, limpio, oscuro. Reflejos cobrizos y granadinos, brillante, con fuerte sensación de grosor. Borde atejado, casi yodado, amplio, marcado respecto al menisco.
Un tinto emocionante que transita por la cuerda floja, oscilante, haciendo equilibrios imposibles, arriesgado. En nariz es un compendio de elegancia y sutileza. Sobrevuela en copa, perfumado, etéreo, con aromas de pétalos marchitos, violetas secas, hierbas aromáticas (lavanda, retama) y granos de pimienta, granos de café. Se confirma poco a poco una nota complejísima de fondo a térreos, corteza de nogal, maderas finas, aceite de abedul, matrioshkas, cuero de rusia... No se acaba, sugerente, cambiante, de una complejidad absoluta. En nuestro caso acabó sacando una inédita nota dulzona que "dicen" recordaba al tabaco de pipa cavendish oscuro y a los virginia clásicos, con un punto licorizado muy de bourbon. ¿Se nota que tenemos un fumador de pipa en el grupo de cata? Dejamos unas horas abierta la botella para ver hacia dónde tiraba. Lustroso, descarnado, balsámico, mostrando una tempranillo en pureza, sin mácula de la madera.
Hay que beberlo a pequeños sorbos. De entrada vivísima, acidez estratoférica y redondez absoluta. Viste de Channel pero pisa muy fuerte. Testimonio de que hubo un tiempo mejor!!! Se confirma lo bien que están llegando casi todos los tintos del 68. Esta botella estaba tocada por alguna varita mágica y se ha apropiado de todas las virtudes del antiguo Château Ygay. Un vino más cerca del cielo que de la tierra. Flota sobre el alambre con total elegancia mientras los simples mortales infartamos de emoción. Se puede decir que incluso es superior al rocoso Castillo Ygay de 1964? Sin duda!!! Ya puedo decir que al menos una vez bebí uno de éstos!!!
Wine Info - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
70% tempranillo, 13% mazuelo, 12% garnacha, 5% graciano - 13% vol.
Uvas procedentes del Pago la Plana, en la zona más alta de la Finca Ygay. Sin registros de vendimia. El vino fermentó en tinos de roble americano durante 30 días con bazuqueos y remontados manuales. Permanece durante 6 meses en grandes depósitos de madera (6.000-7.000 litros) en los que finaliza la fermentación maloláctica y se estabiliza antes de pasar a criarse en madera. Maduración a lo largo de 4 años en barricas semi-nuevas de roble americano de 225 litros. Tras esta crianza es trasegados a tinas de madera usada dónde realiza una nueva maduración durante 9 años y medio. Embotellado en enero de 1983, apenas unos meses antes del inicio de la comercialización del Castillo Ygay 1942 Reserva Especial. Un mínimo de 5 años de guarda en botellero en los calados de la bodega antes de ser comercializado. Oficialmente las primeras botellas se vendieron mediados del año 1988. El corcho es remplazado cada 20 años.
Edición especial etiquetada en 1987 con motivos navales para celebrar el periodo de instrucción del príncipe Felipe de Borbón en el "Buque Escuela Juan Sebastián de Elcano".
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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8/5/2013 - rSyver wrote: 94 Points
Mature, complex and long lasting. Not up with the 59, but not far behind. Drinking beautifully now, can not see any reason to cellar it more, although it can handle it well for a few more years.
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9/16/2011 - LWI wrote: 94 Points
Districts and Producers in Spain (My House): Wonderful tertiary aromas, mature, a sweet and elegant touch, fresh mushroom, long and intense.
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11/11/2010 - Harley1199 wrote: 95 Points
Cata Castillo Ygay - Marqués de Murrieta / Castillo de Ygay - Marqués de Murrieta Tasting (Bodega Santa Cecilia - Madrid): 6th wine of the evening. My second experience with this vintage. Superb! What a nose! Marzipan even! A watery texture but, again, but with an incredible nose: violets, roses, all flowers. Very meaty, raw for sure. Delicious!
Sexto vino de la tarde. Mi segunda experiencia con esta añada. ¡Magnífico! ¡Menuda nariz! ¡Incluso Mazapán! Una textura acuosa, de nuevo, pero con una nariz increible: violetas, roas, todas las flores. Muy cárnico, de carne cruda. ¡Delicioso!
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10/2/2010 - Serge Birbrair wrote:
Surpassed by it's 1942 older brother but still has finish mile long and as good as it can be.
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8/23/2009 - Harley1199 wrote:
Celebrating my sister 40th birthday with a 40 yo wine. Brown colour with orange edges. Kirsch, ripe sour cherries on nose. Smoky, chimney ash. Earthy. Oak well-integrated (cigar box). Little vetuste on palate; still good acidity but out of the limits, going to be a glorious vinegar. It is not a superb bottle (Sure it was) but we enjoyed anyway.
Celebrando el cuarenta cumpleaños de mi hermana con un vino de 40 años. Color marrón con bordes anaranjados. Kirsch, cerezas maduras agrias en nariz. Ahumado, ceniza de chimenea. Terroso y de madera bien integrada (caja de puros). Un poco vetusto en el paladar; todavía con una buena acidez pero fuera de los límites, yendo hacia un vinagre glorioso. No es una botella buenísima (lo fue, seguro) pero de todas formas la disfrutamos.
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3/3/2009 - Yagil wrote: 83 Points
at Noa's
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1/27/2009 - jan erik wrote: 93 Points
Bright red with some brick out at the far end. A wonderfull smell of violets and cherry tones. Not much oak here. Taste is on the acid side ,red currant ,sour cherry.Some raisins.And a long aftertaste with nice ,finegrained tannins accompany the fruit acids. There is allso a notch "old Rioja" in this with thea leaves .THere is no point in decanter this and it still allive many hours upon opening. Is this really over 40 years old? Its amazing how much life there is left. anyone out there still have this it should be good for another decade or two!
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9/20/2008 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 85 Points
My 40th birthday dinner (Restaurant Karel V *, Utrecht, Netherlands): An old señor, brown sugar, ripe and rounded, over the hill but with a pleasant sweetness. Probably not a perfect bottle.
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9/13/2008 - Michael wrote: 94 Points
finesse absolute!
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7/4/1993 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 95 Points
Just released by the bodega after 25 years. Light orange garnet coulour; the nose ethereal, lifted, refined, stately and calm - all rolled into one, vinous, quite a lot of vanilla, hint of stables, a quintessence of classic Tempranillo; smooth and supple, lovely hint of sweetness, perfectly harmonious and elegant, vanilla, vinosity, good fruit; exceptional length. Drink now - 2010+.
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