Legendary Bodegas Muga, Rioja Alta

438 Union Place,Excelsior MN 55331

19 April, 2023

Description

Legendary Bodegas Muga, Rioja Alta
Seated & Guided Tasting, Presented by David de la Fuente, Muga Export Manager
Featuring six wines & light bitesWednesday, April 19, 6-7:30 pm, Wine Republic Tickets: $25 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. Bodegas Muga Rioja Blanco, 2021
 Blend of 70% Viura, 20% Malvasia & 10% Garnacha Blanca. Aromas of white fruit, floral notes and hints of citrus. On the palate it is fresh, lively and balanced. This wine is more citric than sweet, with a rich natural acidity, an unctuous mid-palate and an elegant and energetic persistence. It presents a perfect combination of sweet and bitter. It’s well balanced with a fine mineral streak. 
Bodegas Muga Rioja Rosado, 2021 
A beautiful pale pink Provençal color. A very pretty nose of flowers, especially rose petals and almonds. Fruit aromas come through well too, red berry fruits, wild strawberries together with some creamy vanilla notes. On the palate, there’s a soft full attack, quite succulent followed by lovely acidity that balances out the first impressions of sweetness. The wine then develops beautifully with a tangy, refreshing finish. A nicely balanced rosé with surprising complexity. This is a pretty rosé with sliced cherry, orange peel and peach. Medium body and very bright, with fresh acidity and graphite and mineral undertones. Jazzy acidity. 60% Grenache, the rest Viura. Co-fermented. James Suckling, 92 pts Bodegas Muga El Anden de la Estacion Crianza, 2018 
Blend of 70% Tempranillo and 30% Garnacha. "Deep ruby to the eye, this wine has a nose of pomegranate and espresso with a sense of earthiness. Velvet tannins play backup to flavors of black cherry, pomegranate, caramel, roasted yellow pepper and tomato leaf that wind down to a savory but bright finish.” Wine Enthusiast, 90 pts Bodegas Muga Rioja Reserva, Unfiltered, 2018 
Aromas of ripe, dark fruit, grape syrup, bitter chocolate and as it opens up, hints of spices such as pepper, vanilla and a little mountain scrub begin coming through. Balanced with a soft touch of acidity to give it good potential for cellaring. The attack is broad and long, with an evolution in the mouth which spreads silky and mineral sensations before concluding with sweet tannins which still have a bit of “grip” and will benefit from some “time out” for their full integration. Bodegas Muga Seleccion Especial Reserva Rioja, 2018
 This Reserva displays an attractive, medium-deep, ruby-red color with some brick-red glints. The nose reveals delicious red and black fruit aromas, such as blueberries, plums and forest fruit, together with notes of licorice and chocolate. Medium-bodied on the palate, the wine shows lovely balance with hints of roasted coffee beans, ripe fruit, silky tannins and a lingering finish. This Crianza can be enjoyed now, but it also has enough structure to be cellared for several years. 
“The 2018 Muga Reserva is a similar blend and has pretty, slightly fresher notes of darker, almost blue fruits as well as violets, spring flowers, and cedary oak. More medium-bodied on the palate, it shows the fresher, elegant style of the vintage, has beautiful tannins, no hard edges, and outstanding length on the finish.” Jeb Dunnuck, 91 pts 
Bodegas Muga Rioja Torre Muga, 2019 
Blend of Tempranillo, Mazuelo and Graciano. With this 2019 vintage we are presented with an elegant-looking wine, with good depth of color, a rich red with purplish hues which denote its youthfulness and potential for evolution. The nose reveals a deeply intense aroma of blackberries and strawberries. The smoked nuances from its ageing in finest quality French oak come through, creating an unmatchable harmony. A powerful palate, with the same predominant aromas as on the nose, and a good balance between the alcohol and the acidity as well as smooth, elegant tannins. The finish is very long in the mouth leaving a sensation of fullness. 
The 2019 Torre Muga is always a more powerful, ripe expression of Rioja that never loses its sense of place. Deep ruby/purple, with a glorious bouquet of cassis, graphite, tobacco leaf, chocolate, and crushed stone, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a deep, pure, multi-dimensional texture, building tannins, and good acidity. It's young, unevolved, yet oh, so promising. Hide bottles for 7-8 years if you can, and it will cruise for 20-30 years. The blend is 80% Tempranillo and the balance Mazuelo and Graciano, aged 18 months in French oak. Jeb Dunnuck, 98 pts 
Intense nose of black fruit, ink, roasted espresso, black truffle and dried rosemary. It’s full-bodied with so much power and concentration. Firm but very velvety and integrated tannins. Deep core of black fruit. Yet, it’s not heavy. Long. One for the cellar.