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Bodegas Muga

According to winemaker Jorge Muga, this great traditional Rioja house has been focusing on its vineyards in recent years. "In Rioja, we don't pay enough attention to the vines," Jorge explains. But there has also been evolution in the winemaking and the physical plant. "We still keep the old methods, but we've been testing new oak and higher toast levels," says Jorge, adding that the winery bought a large number of new barrels for the '99 vintage. "The more we taste toasty new oak, the more we like it. Today our Prado Enea and gran reserva are somewhere between traditional Rioja and the modern style." Muga is adding 18 new fermenters to achieve the capacity to do long maceration, even when the grapes come into the cellar in a rush, as they did in '98. All the future wines will begin in new French barrels for at least a few months, then go into new American barrels, and finally into older wood "to stabilize the wines." Muga will shorten the time the Prado Enea stays in barrel from four to three years, which, according to Jorge, is still enough time for a thorough natural decanting. The number of egg whites used to fine each barrel will be cut from four to two. Muga now has a fleet of mini-ATVs to ferry the grapes quickly from the vineyards to the winery.

From The Best of Rioja and Ribera del Duero (Nov 1999) by Stephen Tanzer

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1991 Rioja Prado Enea Gran Reserva

Color: Red

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