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Torre Muga 2009 75cl

DOCa | Rioja | Spain
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2009 2015
Critics scores
92 Robert Parker
Raised for 16 months in French oak and inspired by the family’s respect for Bordeaux, the 2009 Torre Muga has a very primal bouquet with creme de cassis, black currant and vanilla with fine delineation, although it is very tight at the moment. The palate is full-bodied with grippy, bold, assertive tannins and layers of dense black, mocha-tinged fruit with hints of white pepper. It has great power and volume without compromising balance, although it requires several years in bottle. Drink 2018-2035. Bodegas Muga was a must during my afternoon visiting the triumvirate of classic Rioja producers located within spitting distance from each other in Haro. The name should need no introduction. It was founded by Aurora Cano and her husband Isaac in 1932, although the family were growers and did not commence winemaking themselves until the 1960s, when they relocated to the building in Barrio de la Estacion. Under Aurora’s son, Isaac Jnr, who joined us for the tasting, Muga fostered a reputation for high quality, classic Rioja wine sourced from an almost incalculable number of tiny parcels. During the 1990s they branched out to pursue what you might call “modern” Rioja with the inception of “Torre Muga” in 1991. This move may have piqued those that feared Muga was forsaking their classical roots, though those fears were unfounded and the bodega continues to fashion wines that embrace both styles. However, let us commence with their sparkling contribution to the Rioja landscape.
92 Wine Spectator
This muscular red delivers savory flavors of dried herb, anise and loamy earth, with ripe cherry and blackberry fruit, backed by firm tannins that give way to a smoky finish. Nicely focused. Drink now through 2022. 400 cases made. –TM
Producer
Bodegas Muga
Located in the defining terroir of Haro, this family-owned bodega has been producing traditional wines using modern techniques since 1932. There are no stainless-steel vats at Muga, so everything is fermented in oak, following old-fashioned procedures they also, use natural fining processes, and gravity-fed decanting to instill Riojan authenticity. The Cano family even employs a master cooper and three in-house barrel-makers, making Muga the only cellar in Spain to do so. Historic Rioja at its best, their Reserva, Reserva Selección Especial, and Prado Enea Gran Reserva are chiefly Tempranillo - showing the rounded mellow characteristics, while the notions of Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano pack the punch of thrilling warming notes. Their most contemporary styled, Torre Muga, blends Mazuelo and Graciano with mostly Tempranillo, for an impressive new blackberry fruited wine. The bodega, year after year, produces the most reliable and affordable Reservas. But they also offer a delicious higher-end wine called Aro. It is a complex blend of 60-year-old Tempranillo and Graciano, which is aged for 18 months in new French oak.