2001 was the height of ripeness, extraction and oak use in Rioja, and even classic wines like the 2001 Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial showed higher alcohol, at 14%, than any of the other 20 vintages I tasted in this vertical tasting. The wine is a majority of Tempranillo with 7% Mazuelo, as there's no more Garnacha or Graciano from here onwards. The wine matured in American oak barrels for 31 months. This is the first wine from the new era; when they selected the specific plot to produce the wine from here onwards, they decided to age the Tempranillo in American oak, as was the tradition, and the Mazuelo in French oak. I found more integrated oak than I expected in the wine, and there's balance, in a different style than before, with higher alcohol and ripeness, with more color, extraction and oak but without excess. This is a lot more modern, even if their model was the 1959 vintage.

93 % Tempranillo, 7 % Mazuelo. Dunkles, am Rand aufleuchtendes Rubin. Klare Fruchtintensit?t, regennasser Stein, getrocknete Steinpilze, sehr ausgewogen und elegant, nobel. Elegant, finessenreich und intensiv am Gaumen, mit grandioser Sü?e und straffen Tanninen, gro?e Konzentration. Ein furioser Wein, der Kraft und Intensit?t mit mineralischer Frische und kraftvoller Eleganz verbindet.

With raisiny, damp aromas and a flat body, we can only label this Marques de Murrieta high-ender a miss. While not a disaster, you’d expect more from something labeled Gran Reserva Especial, but instead it fails to capture the essence of Rioja and shows heavy cola, blackberry and truffle flavors as well as deep, dull tannins. Overripe to begin with?——M.S.(8/1/2009)—— 84