Bodegas Muga Rioja Reserva Unfiltered 2019 (750ml)

 

Rated 94 Points by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

 

The 2019 Reserva, sold as Crianza in Spain, comes from a dry and warm year with low yields and concentrated wines.  The grapes from the Haro zone, the four from Rioja, Tempranillo, Garnacha Tinta, Mazuelo and Graciano fermented destemmed and lightly crushed in oak vats with indigenous yeasts, and 80% of the volume matured in French oak and the rest in Centro European and American oak, 20% of them new, for 22 months, during which time the wine was racked every eight to nine months.  This is serious and young but balanced, nuanced and complex.  They are shortening the time in oak, as they feel they have better and younger barrels and think the wines need less time in oak and more time in bottle.  This is very Muga, very Rioja and very good.

 

Rated 94 Points by James Suckling

 

This is a structured and linear Muga Reserva with a creamy and fine-tannined backbone and graphite, cherry, plum and black-truffle character.  Medium-bodied, racy and beautiful.

 

Rated 92 Points by Wine Enthusiast

 

This deep-hued wine has a bouquet of black plum, cinnamon stick and citrus zest.  Black cherry, pomegranate, milk chocolate, violet, caramel and eucalyptus flavors are wrapped in a sheath of velvety tannins that endure on the tongue and gums with a light floral note. 

 

Bodegas Muga Rioja Reserva Unfiltered 2019

 

Grapes Varieties:  70% Tempranillo, 20% Grenache, 10% Mazuelo & Graciano

 

Tasting Notes

 

This 2019 Reserva has a bright, ruby-red color, with medium depth and a garnet tinged rim.  On the nose it proves to be a wine which is complex in aroma, in which primary aromas of fruit such as blueberries are enhanced by spicy nuances.  On the palate it is long, balanced and elegant, with perfectly integrated acidity and smooth tannins.  The finish is very long and fruity.

 

Food Pairings

 

This is the wine to accompany you anywhere, perfect to enjoy with baked fish, meat, rice dishes and good after dinner conversation.

 

Vinification

 

Manual harvesting.  Fermentation in wooden vats with controlled temperatures.  Aged for 24 months in casks made in our own coopers’ workshop with selection of the sources.  The origin of the wood is 80% French oak and 20% American.  Before bottling the wine is fined using fresh egg whites.  It then spends a minimum of 12 months in our bottle cellar to give it greater complexity and finesse.

 

Geology & Soil

 

Calcareous clay soil from the tertiary era.

 

 

Bodegas Muga

 

Bodegas Muga is a family business founded by Isaac Muga and Aurora Caño in 1932, which is located in the historic Barrio de La Estación (Station Quarter) of Haro.  With an area of around 25,000 square metres, it is home to both the most traditional winemaking methods and the latest cutting-edge techniques.

 

Wines that are born from inspiration and authenticity.

 

In Muga, we always use the finest materials and are open to new techniques that provide greater quality without losing authenticity.

 

To produce each of our wines, we continue opting for traditional procedures:

 

Through the natural process of fining, we eliminate the suspended particles that appear in the wine.

 

We carry out the decanting by the traditional method of gravity.
 

We are the only cellar in Spain with a master cooper and three in-house barrel-makers.

 

Muga

 

Bodegas Muga is Rioja Alta’s premier producer and the Muga family are unanimously considered to be one of Spain’s most important winemaking families.  The winery has practically legendary status due to its philosophy revolving around adherence to tradition, dynamism, and winemaking of the highest quality.  Few producers in the world fashion wines that have such a sense of tradition and place as Muga’s.  The wines of Muga have an absolutely distinct, unique, and inimitable profile.

 

Bodegas Muga was officially founded in 1932 by the Muga family, who at that point had spent several decades working as viticulturists in Rioja Alta.  At the time, the Mugas were in the negociant business of buying, blending, and ageing wine.  Soon after the foundation of the cellars they started production of their own estate grown wines.  The winery is still owned by the Mugas and every single aspect of its operation is controlled and overseen by the family.

 

From a production point of view, they are one of the most traditional wineries in the world, as every aspect of the winemaking process is still carried out in oak barrels and vats.  Furthermore, every single barrel and vat is made at the winery by the cooperage team.  Bodegas Muga is the only winery in Spain that employs their own master cooper, who is assisted by a team of three barrel makers.  The master cooper’s son also works at the winery, and is studying to become a master cooper himself.  The Mugas travel in the late fall and early winter every year to France and elsewhere to purchase oak for the year.  They inspect every single tree and select one by one.  The trees are fashioned into staves at the winery, and are seasoned and aged for several years at the winery’s facilities.  The winery even has 50,000L vats that were assembled by the master cooper’s own hands.

 

The winemaking process is carried out with 100% indigenous yeasts.  The winery’s barrel room is enormous and Muga employs a crew of six men just for barrel management and rackings.  The racking process is completed by gravity in order to maintain the integrity of the wine.  During the rackings, the wine is inspected by candlelight to watch for sediments.  This way, the wines are effectively filtered naturally without the use of harmful pumps or filters that would otherwise strip the wine of its character.  The red wines are fined naturally with egg whites.

 

Although the Mugas have maintained all aspects of traditional Rioja winemaking, what makes the family great is their vision for the future and adaptability, while always holding true to their philosophy.