A few days ago few sips of this 1925 Castillo de Ygay went through my body and soul. It started by passing through my digestive system and then it hit my neurons hard, transporting me to the past in an ’81 DeLorean. I could hear Doc’s tasting note very clearly, “Great Scott!”
And all this happened in my new home and adventure centre, at
Mugaritz! With my favourite sommelier’s team, with
Haemin Song, Kristell Monot and Aldo Rial, and so many other great fellow adventurers!
Marques de Murrieta was the first Rioja winery to export its wines. It was founded by Luciano de Murrieta y García-Lemoine in 1852, and its Gran Reserva Especial is only produced in exceptional years, from grapes from the highest part of the historic Ygay vineyard, grapes from the La Plana estate or pago, in southern Rioja Alta, at an altitude of 485 metres above sea level. This 1925 wine is a blend of 49% Tempranillo, 19% Garnacha, 17% Mazuelo and 15% Graciano. After fermentation and ageing in several new American oak barrels, it was further aged for 5 more years in new barrels, and then aged for more than 30 years in older barrels. It was not bottled until 1964, and was released in 1973. Those were other times, and other ways of making wine.
I feel really lucky, as do my colleagues. Here is the beautiful photo taken by Haemin Song, showing the colour of this legendary and centenary wine.
Michael J. Fox aka Marty McFly & Chris Lloyd aka Emmett L. “Doc” Brown said it all:
“But Doc, you built a time machine out of a DeLorean?
– In my opinion, if you’re going to do something like this, do it in style.”
The same can be said of this Marques de Murrieta, it has a style and energy that you can breathe in immediately. Crazy, indescribable.
Tasting note: better not to use words. Something so strong that it can only be felt. It produces pure emotion.
“This is electric but it would need nuclear power to generate the required electricity”.
Yes, this wine is also electric, pure energy. An acidity as lively as the whole of humanity and it has a good balance, rare to find at this age.
“Live in the House of the Future: Today!”
Oxymoron! And by tasting wines like Castillo de Ygay 1925 we can achieve it, we will feel just as cool as Ygay, it has a magical balance, and as Siniestro Total predicted in his song ‘hand in hand, towards extinction’. Let’s live in the house of the future today, in a 1925 energy capsule, right here and now.
“Hey, Doc. We don’t have enough road to go 88 miles.
– Road? Where we’re going, we won’t need roads.”
Where we are going we won’t need either Amazon nor Aliexpress, Carpe Diem friends, lets be happy whenever we can manage it, let’s not let that DeLorean of emotion escape from us, and in a vital challenge, let’s travel to the past and to the future whenever we want in a flash, but always enjoying the present in every precious instant.