Bodegas Muga Rioja Blanco 2023
Bodegas Muga was officially founded in 1932 by the Muga family, who at that point had spent several decades working as viticulturists in Rioja Alta. At the time, the Mugas were in the negociant business of buying, blending, and aging wine. Soon after the foundation of the cellars they started production of their own estate grown wines.
The winery is still owned by the Mugas and every single aspect of its operation is controlled and overseen by the family. From a production point of view, they are one of the most traditional wineries in the world, as every aspect of the winemaking process is still carried out in oak barrels and vats. Bodegas Muga is the only winery in Spain that employs their own master cooper, who is assisted by a team of three barrel makers. The master cooper’s son also works at the winery, and is studying to become a master cooper himself. The Mugas travel in the late fall and early winter every year to France and elsewhere to purchase oak for the year. The trees are fashioned into staves at the winery, and are seasoned and aged for several years at the winery’s facilities. The winery even has 50,000L vats that were assembled by the master cooper’s own hands.
The winemaking process is carried out with 100% indigenous yeasts. The racking process is completed by gravity in order to maintain the integrity of the wine. During the rackings, the wine is inspected by candlelight to watch for sediments. This way, the wines are effectively filtered naturally without the use of harmful pumps or
filters that would otherwise strip the wine of its character.
It is a pale, straw-yellow color. On the nose showcases a complex wine with aniseed and citrus notes, such as lemon and lemon cake, a touch of white blossom and even some vanilla nuances. On the palate the crisp acidity is well balanced by the volume. This is a complex wine in which the citrus and floral notes reappear, together with stone fruit and a very long finish.
Hand-harvested. After light maceration of the must with the skins in the press, this ferments in different sized wooden vats and new French-oak casks with very lightly toasted wood sourced from the Nevers region. Once alcoholic fermentation is complete, the wine remains for 4 months in the casks, with lees stirring or “bâtonage” twice per week during the first months and once a day during the final month, so as to keep the fine lees in contact with the wine to protect it from oxygen and to give a smoother mouth-feel and more complexity.
