Bodegas Muga - Rioja Reserva 2019 (375ml HALF BOTTLE)
Price: $20.99
Producer | Bodegas Muga |
Country | Spain |
Region | Rioja |
Subregion | Rioja |
Varietal | Tempranillo |
Vintage | 2019 |
Sku | 66544 |
The Wine:
The Reserva bottling is a true gem: traditional, born and bred Spanish grape varieties located in this supreme subsector of Rioja. Tempranillo and Garnacha (Grenache, as we know it in France) are the stars, with Mazuello, bringing some serious structure, and a drop of Graciano to deepen color and heighten aromatics. All wines are fermented only by the yeast on the grapes - a rarity anywhere - and in larger neutral oak. Throughout the aging process the wines are transferred by gravity to gently remove them from sediment.
The Producer:
Founded by the Muga family in 1936, this family-owned operation has steadfastly stuck to traditional Riojano methods, and taken it all a step further in an effort for 360 degree of quality control. The only estate in Spain with a Master Cooper (literally...think boat builder...but...wine barrels) on payroll. Not only have they sought out the best mind to construct the gentle structures that hold their precious product, but the family goes as far as making annual trips to France, Central Europe, and America to personally inspect and select the individual trees that will become those vessels, subsequently aging and drying the selections for years on site, safe in their cooperage, until just the right time.
The house’s vineyard holdings are within the subregion of Rioja Alta, the highest elevation and the coolest vineyards. This leads to a longer, slower ripening of the grapes, creating a more complex profile to the final wines. All vineyard management is organic, though not certified. Frankly there are a number of families throughout Europe that have the respectable opinion that they should not have to pay to get a ‘silver star’ for the sound environmental efforts that have always been at the core of their viticultural philosophy.
Tradition and respect extends to the grape varieties chosen. Most producers have succumbed to the draw of appealing to a broader audience - namely, planting international grape varieties (like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah). In fact, it was at many producers’ beckoning, that their regional governing body approved these grapes. A small percentage of any one of these grapes masks the unique character of what makes a wine from Rioja what it is. We appreciate the Muga family’s steadfastness in the face of international influences. They have decisively maintained tradition, and we like ‘em a little bit more just for that.