Bodegas Muga "Torre Muga" Rioja 2019
(Rioja, Spain) 750mL - [JD 98+] [JS 97] [WA 95+] [WS 93]

About the Winery:
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.

GRAPES: Tempranillo, Mazuelo and Graciano.

SOIL: Chalky-clay and alluvial.

VINIFICATION: Fermentation always starts naturally and spontaneously. The grapes will always ferment in wooden vats with indigenous yeasts and no temperature control. Maceration times can vary, up to two or three weeks. The wine ages for 18 months in new French-oak barrels from the area of Allier. After ageing there is light fining of the wine using fresh egg whites.

TASTING: With this 2019 vintage we are presented with an elegant-looking wine, with good depth of colour, a rich red 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.

FOOD PAIRING: You can pair this wine with red meat left to hang for a good time, game or failing that, enjoy it on its own. We can also recommend it to accompany grilled white fish.

---

 98+ Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
"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." (Jun 2022)

97 Points - James Suckling:
"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. Try this from 2027." (May 2022)

95+ Points - Wine Advocate:
"The 2019 Torre Muga showcases the classical blend of Tempranillo, Mazuelo (Cariñena) and Graciano, all from old and some ancient vines. The grapes are harvested into 200-kilogram boxes, the bunches destemmed and the grapes put through optical sorting to ferment in small oak vats with indigenous yeasts. Malolactic was in new French oak barrels, where the wine aged after racking for some 18 months, during which time it was racked every eight to nine months. It was fined with egg whites. 2019 is a great vintage for Muga, and they produced quality and quantity, which is remarkable. This has a slightly more modern profile and some French oak undertones, more noticeable in a wide glass and subtler in a narrower one. But it has stuffing, freshness and balance to absorb it in the short to medium term. And it's a year of power and finesse, one of the best in recent years. 47,880 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2021." – LG (Jul 2022)

93 Points - Wine Spectator:
"This harmonious, medium- to full-bodied version is lively and expressive, with good tension from the creamy tannins, creating a frame for flavors of fig cake, crushed boysenberry, espresso, sweet tobacco, minerally iron and stone. Long and focused on the fresh finish. Tempranillo, Mazuelo and Graciano. Drink now through 2030. 3,000 cases made, 400 cases imported." - AN (Oct 2022)