Muga Seleccion Especial 2019 (750ml)

 

Rated 95 Points by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

 

The subtle and harmonious 2019 Selección Especial reflects a very complete and good vintage.  It has to be one of the finest vintages for this wine.  2019 is a powerful vintage with balance and freshness.  The grapes ripened thoroughly and developed a full set of aromas and flavors.  It's complex and nuanced, with abundant, fine-grained tannins and a long, dry and tasty finish.  Selección applies to the vineyards but also the barrels and everything that contributes to this wine; it's not only a selection of lots, which was the case before the 1994 vintage.

 

Rated 95 Points by James Suckling

 

Fresh and demure nose with lots of cocoa powder, blackcurrants, blackberries and a hint of cigar and charcoal.  Excellent depth and class here with a very juicy center palate.  Medium to full body with a long and layered finish.

 

Muga Selección Especial 2019

 

Grapes Varieties:  Tempranillo, Grenache and Graciano.

 

Selección is only produced in great vintages and in varying quantities depending on the conditions of each vintage.  The wine is a result of a strict selection of the family's oldest vineyards planted on hillsides and higher altitude sites that tend to have poorer soil and better drainage.  These conditions result in lower yields and higher quality fruit.  In the cellar, vinification is similar to flagship Reserva bottling, but Selección Especial sees a higher quality oak treatment, longer ageing, and strict selection by the family.

 

Tasting Notes

 

This Muga Selección Especial 2019 wine has a rich, deep, black cherry colour and robe. 

 

A highly intense nose, in which notes of ripe fruit such as blackberries appear, complemented by spicy aromas of clove and vanilla coming through, giving a lot of complexity. 

 

On the palate it has a marked, well-integrated acidity, well-polished tannins and medium body.  Very silky and elegant, with ripe fruit notes reappearing with hints of well-integrated wood.  Very long and balanced.

 

A Reserva whose good acidity and tannin suggest great ageing potential.

 

Food Pairings

 

This wine will go well with red meats, lamb and all types of game dishes.

 

Vinification

 

After fermentation with indigenous yeasts in oak vats, the wine is Aged for 26 months, in new french oak barrel made in our cooperage.  After being fined with fresh egg whites, the wine is bottled, after which it remains in our cellars for at least 18 months for further ageing.

 

Geology & Soil

 

Clay-limestone Tertiary era terraces located on the slopes of Montes Obarenes and Sierra Cantabria.

 

 

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.