Technical sheet:
Winery: Muga
D.O.Ca Rioja
Vintage: 2021
Variety: Mostly Viura with a percentage of White Grenache and Malvasia from Rioja.
Alcohol content: 13.5% vol.
Tasting notes: Wine with a straw-yellow color, bright, that does not show its time in the barrel. On the nose, it is clean, complex with aromas of aromatic herbs such as fennel, citrus (lime), stone fruits (peach), and light toasty notes.
On the palate, it is a fresh wine with good acidity, balanced, silky, and with a very long finish.
Serving temperature: 9-12º C
Geology and Soil: Clay-limestone and alluvial.
Harvest: Manual harvest in 200-kilogram crates with selection of clusters in the vineyard and subsequent transfer to the winery in a refrigerated truck.
Production: After a slight maceration of the skins with the must in the press, it ferments in new barrels of French oak from the Nevers district with a light toasting. Once the alcoholic fermentation is finished, it remains in the barrels for 3 months, with 2 weekly battonages to keep its fine lees in contact with the wine, protecting it from oxygen and providing mouthfeel and harmony to the wine. Before bottling, it is cold stabilized.
Pairing: At Made in Spain we recommend it with grilled fish, seafood, and rice dishes. Also with semi-cured sheep cheeses and vegan cheeses from Veggie Karma.
Muga's vineyards
Probably one of the terroirs that best defines the typicity of the wines made in Haro. Its geological and climatic characteristics give the wines a marked personality with great aging potential, making it a unique place in La Rioja. Located a few kilometers from Haro, it is on a plateau with a very particular geological structure, to which we must add its fantastic protection from the cold winds of the north. In a few words, an exceptional vineyard. They are the first vineyards owned by the Muga family. The quality of their high-end wines lies in this paradisiacal location. Tempranillo, Mazuelo, Graciano coexist in this vineyard to give us magnificent wines. This is an example of a family's work to ensure quality for the future. Muga does not stop investing in the best terroirs in the area. For our newly planted vineyards, we not only seek to recover the highest quality lands, but we also work to ensure that the selection of each and every one of our vines is the best, and that is why Muga plants its vineyards with our own selection of vines. These vineyards, located at the highest altitude in La Rioja and being the limit of cultivation, produce wines with very good acidity and aging potential. Few wineries bet on such extreme areas, but our peculiar cultivation system allows us to produce wines of the highest quality and discover the potential of each of our vineyards.
Rioja Alavesa: the elite of Rioja wines
Rioja Alavesa is classified as a sub-zone in the Rioja Qualified Designation of Origin. It has 13,500 hectares of vineyards and several hundred wineries, resulting in an average annual production of around 40 million liters of wine.
The area especially produces red wines with specific general characteristics, such as a bright and lively color, a fine aroma, a fruity flavor, and a pleasant palate. These peculiarities are due to the clay-limestone soils of the area, which are excellent for vines to absorb the necessary moisture. The quality is also contributed by the climate and the location of the vineyards, behind the Sierra de Toloño, which protects the vines from the cold winds of the north and allows the vines to better take advantage of the heat.
Red wines are the most representative wines of the region and are made with the varieties Tempranillo (around 79% of the total produced from this grape), Garnacha, Mazuelo, and Graciano.
Young wines or wines of the year are mostly made using the traditional carbonic maceration method, in which whole clusters ferment in
