Bodegas Marqués de Murrieta - Rioja White Ygay Capellanía Reserva 2019

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James Suckling: 96 Points

Steely and floral nose of white nuts like macadamias, meringue, star fruit and a touch of green pineapple. Round and full-bodied but surprisingly bright and lively, with vibrant acidity providing the backbone. Really long and pure, while there is also suppleness and fleshiness. From the five-hectare Capellania vineyard, where most of the vines are over 100 years old. One of the best viuras out there. Lovely now, but you should seriously consider aging this.

Wine Advocate: 95 Points

2019 saw an early start of the harvest, with low yields and small grapes with concentration but balance. The 2019 Capellanía, an update on the long-aging whites from yesteryear, was produced with grapes picked on the 10th and 11th of September. The must fermented in concrete and matured in French oak barrels for 23 months, followed by another 13 months in concrete. It did not go through malolactic. They increased the time in concrete after aging in barrel, which seems to have worked very well; the wine is subtler, more elegant and balanced. It's direct, precise, fresh and elegant, with a vibrant palate and certain lightness. It has energy and light. 30,378 bottles and 1,204 magnums produced. It was bottled in May 2023. - Luis Gutierrez

A View from the Cellar: 94 Points

The 2019 vintage of “Capellanía” Blanco is the soon to be released next version of this fine white Rioja from Marqués de Murrieta. The wine is made entirely of Viura, planted on six hectares of land at the highest altitude on the estate’s famous Ygay property. The wine is fermented in large concrete vats and aged for twenty-two months in new French Burgundy casks. The 2019 offers up a beautiful, youthful bouquet of pear, raw almond, a beautiful base of white soil tones, dried flowers, a whisper of wild fennel and a gentle framing of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied and impeccably balanced, with a lovely core of fruit, fine soil inflection, zesty acids and a long, focused and nascently complex finish. This is already a delicious glass of wine, but it is still fairly primary and far more complexity will emerge if it is given some time to hibernate in the cellar. Great juice! - John Gilman