Muga : Torre Muga 2019

Characteristics and Tasting Notes of the Torre Muga 2019

Tasting

Color
Deep ruby red with violet highlights, this wine reveals its youth and concentration.

Nose
With remarkable aromatic intensity, the bouquet combines notes of blackberry and strawberry with smoky nuances derived from aging in French oak barrels. Aromas of blackcurrant, graphite, tobacco leaf, and chocolate complete this complex palette.

Palate
Powerful and concentrated, the palate reveals a medium- to full-bodied structure. The tannins, both firm and velvety, are perfectly integrated and lend an elegant structure. The balance between alcohol and acidity is exemplary, providing freshness and vibrancy. The finish proves very long and persistent, leaving an impression of richness.

Food and Wine Pairing
This wine pairs ideally with aged red meat, game, or grilled white fish. It can also be enjoyed on its own to reveal its full complexity.

Service and Storage
The Torre Muga 2019 can already be enjoyed now, but will continue to gain from further cellaring. For younger bottles, a two-hour decanting is recommended. It is best served at a temperature between 16 and 18°C. This wine can continue to evolve until around 2060.

A Modern and Powerful Rioja from Bodegas Muga

The Producer
Founded in 1932 by Isaac Muga Martínez and Aurora Caño in Haro, in the historic Estación district, Bodegas Muga remains an independent family-run winery. Today, the bodega is led by the third generation, with Isaac Muga serving as technical director, and stands out for its own cooperage—unique in Spain—where a master cooper and three craftsmen handcraft all the barrels used. Muga exports to more than seventy countries and embodies the excellence of Rioja by blending traditional methods with contemporary precision.

The Vineyard
The grapes for the Torre Muga 2019 come from plots in the towns of Villalba de Rioja, Briñas, and Labastida, on the slopes of the Obarenes Mountains. These vines are planted at elevations between five hundred and five hundred fifty meters and benefit from cool nighttime temperatures that preserve acidity and aromas, while receiving ample sunlight during the day to achieve optimal phenolic ripeness. The calcareous-clay and alluvial soils give the wine its mineral structure and exceptional aging potential.

The Vintage
The 2019 vintage proved particularly favorable in Rioja, especially in the Rioja Alta subzone. Balanced climatic conditions allowed for concentrated grapes with excellent phenolic ripeness and preserved acidity—essential qualities for producing age-worthy wines.

Winemaking and Aging
Following manual harvest in two-hundred-kilogram crates, the grapes are destemmed and then sorted optically. Fermentation begins spontaneously with native yeasts in small wooden vats, without temperature control. Maceration lasts two to three weeks depending on the grape variety. Malolactic fermentation and aging then take place over eighteen months in new French oak barrels sourced from the forests of Allier and Tronçais. The wine is racked by gravity every eight to nine months and lightly fined with fresh egg white before bottling.

Grape Varieties
Tempranillo (80%), Mazuelo, Graciano