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Castillo Ygay 1970: highlight from the Vinous retrospective

Castillo Ygay 1970 was one of the highlights of Vinous’ recent retrospective on Castillo Ygay Reserva Especial going back to 1959. Spanish wine expert Joaquin Hidalgo praises the wine for its “full tertiary depth”. He notes that although fully mature, it will continue to drink well until 2050. There are very few wines of this age and calibre available on the market today.

“A shining example” of classic Rioja is how Hidalgo describes the Reserva Especial. It comes from one of the oldest properties in the region. Established in 1852, Castillo Ygay was ground-breaking at the time in bringing the “chateau” model to Rioja: for the first time, grapes were grown and vinified on the same property. Today, the bodega remains widely regarded as one of the finest producers in Spain.

The Reserva Especial is the top wine here. It is only made in the very best vintages and was made fewer than twenty times in the last century. The grapes come from old, low yielding vines from a single plot, La Plana, located at high altitude in Rioja Alta. Vinification has alway been traditional, with long ageing in a mixture of American and French oak giving elegance and exceptional ageability to the wine.

1970 is rightly famed as one of Rioja’s best vintages. We sourced our parcel of the Castillo Ygay 1970 from the cellars of a European agent. This agent originally shipped the wine directly from the bodega. It has been impeccably stored ever since.

This is a rare opportunity to acquire a wine that is over half a century old and still has further to go. In this context, it is very reasonably priced. Fans of highly complex, beautifully aged Rioja should snap this up.