2014 Torre Muga

Made from 75% Tempranillo, 15% Mazuelo, 10% Graciano, the 2014 Torre Muga is heavenly stuff that’s from the oldest vineyards of the estate. This cuvée comes from sandy loam soils, was completely destemmed and saw malolactic fermentation in barrels followed by 15 months in oak prior to bottling. Blackcurrants, blackberries, charcoal, dark chocolate, and pencil lead notes all emerge from this big, rich, beautifully concentrated, yet fresh, vibrant and pure Rioja that has a stacked mid-palate, ripe, polished tannin, notable freshness, and a pure, elegant, yet powerful style. It's a beautiful wine to drink over the coming two decades.

There was no 2012 or 2013 produced, so we jumped from the 2011 to the 2014 Torre Muga, a blend of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Graciano and 10% Mazuelo from the middle of the slope in the village of Villalba de Rioja (where the Muga family comes from). It combines the freshness of the higher-altitude vineyards of the Prado Enea with the power of the lower ones used for the Muga range. It fermented in oak vats and had a shorter élevage of only 15 months (it used to be more), and the different varieties were kept separated until the penultimate racking when they were blended. There is more volume here and some more spice from the élevage, with an open and expressive nose. It's medium-bodied with some fine tannins and less weight in the mid-palate than other vintages. 20,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2016.