2012 Marqués de Murrieta – Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial.

2012 Marqués de Murrieta – Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial.

A Rioja monument—born from old vines, aged with patience, and destined for legend.

There are Riojas that speak of tradition, and then there are Riojas that define it. The 2012 Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial by Marqués de Murrieta stands as a masterclass in classical elegance—an icon revived from the historic La Plana vineyard and carefully sculpted over nearly a decade of aging. This is not just a wine; it’s a living archive of Spain’s viticultural heritage.

About the Winery

Founded in 1852, and now led by Vicente Dalmau Cebrián-Sagarriga, Marqués de Murrieta is one of the cornerstone estates of Rioja. This Rioja icon is often credited with shaping the identity of modern Rioja wines. Located at the Ygay Estate near Logroño, it remains one of the few wineries in the region that controls the entire production process from vineyard to bottle, allowing it to preserve stylistic consistency and purity of terroir expression.

While their Rioja Reserva and Capellanía Blanco showcase finesse and house character, it is Castillo Ygay—produced only in the finest vintages—that represents the pinnacle of their ambition. This is a wine born of tradition but built for the future, a true Gran Reserva in every sense of the word.

You can read more about Marqués de Murrieta in our article ‘The Global Success of Marqués de Murrieta’.

About the Vineyard

The La Plana vineyard lies at 485 meters above sea level on the Ygay estate, and was planted in 1950. It is the highest and most iconic parcel in the property—dedicated solely to the production of Castillo Ygay. With vines over 70 years old, the plot offers low yields but intensely expressive fruit. Here, the high elevation fosters slow, balanced ripening, preserving freshness and aromatic clarity even in warmer years like 2012.

Soils are predominantly clay-limestone, giving the wine its mineral backbone and unmistakable earthy complexity. The vineyard’s exposure and age contribute to the wine’s tension, concentration, and age-worthiness—elements essential for a true Gran Reserva Especial.

About the Wine

A timeless Rioja, meticulously crafted.

The 2012 Castillo Ygay is a blend of 81% Tempranillo and 19% Mazuelo (Carignan), both sourced exclusively from La Plana. Each variety was vinified separately, with extended fermentation and careful extraction. The Tempranillo matured for 34 months in American oak, while the Mazuelo spent the same time in French barrique, after which the two were blended and rested an additional 20 months in concrete, and nearly three more years in bottle before release.

In the glass, the wine presents a deep garnet hue with ruby flashes on the rim—classic and inviting. The nose is a revelation: dried violets, rose petals, forest floor, and sweet spice lead into richer layers of rusted iron, graphite, tobacco, and red currant compote. A faint note of grilled orange peel adds warmth and complexity.

On the palate, this vintage stuns with its refined power and balance. The tannins are sleek and polished, giving the wine a velvety frame that slowly reveals its layers: ripe wild strawberries, balsamic notes, dried mushrooms, and a whisper of eucalyptus and leather. The finish is remarkably long, carried by vibrant acidity and a stony, iron-tinged minerality that echoes the La Plana soils. There’s depth here, but also lift—thanks in part to the Mazuelo, which lends freshness and definition to the wine’s savory, almost Burgundian profile.

This vintage is not loud—it’s articulate. It speaks softly, but with conviction.

The 2012 Vintage in Context

2012 in Rioja was warm and dry, but the season’s extremes were tempered by altitude and old vines. La Plana, with its elevated site and deep-rooted vines, fared especially well. Yields were 30% lower than the previous vintage, resulting in intensely concentrated fruit.

Castillo Ygay 2012 straddles the character of two prior legends—the firm, long-lived 1964 and the graceful 1934. It is a wine of both restraint and confidence, already showing beautifully in its youth, yet clearly built for the long haul. It is also a singular vintage—Murrieta did not produce Castillo Ygay in 2013, 2014, or 2015. The next release will jump to 2016, making the 2012 an essential chapter in this wine’s storied history.

Conclusion

The 2012 Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial is not only a standout in the Murrieta canon—it is a benchmark for Rioja. It captures the balance between heritage and precision, structure and elegance, and offers a lens into the soul of La Plana and the legacy of its vines.

This is a wine to enjoy now with reverence, or to cellar for decades to come. It will evolve beautifully, gaining nuance and depth. But even today, it already whispers of greatness.

We award this wine a 98-point DWA score—a Rioja of pedigree and poise, and one of the most complete Spanish wines of the past decade.

This review is written by our own Niels Aarts. We tasted this wine during the recording of our podcast Grape Masters at the Ygay Estate, with Vicente Dalmau Cebrián-Sagarriga.

Marqués de Murrieta, and their sister winery Pazo de Barrantes, are distributed in the Netherlands by Verbunt Verlinden and available for purchase through Wijnkring.

Price:                   ~€295,00

Taste Date:          December 2024

Score:                   98/100 DWA Score

Website:          Marqués de Murrieta

Glassware:          Spiegelau Definition Bordeaux

Writer:                 Niels Aarts