Wine & Words

Muga Rosado 2008 (Rioja, Spain) 
Bodegas Muga, with its production facility in the historic old town of Haro, in the heart of Rioja, is best known for its premium bottlings – Torre Muga and Prado Enea Gran Reserva. These wines consistently receive scores in the mid-90’s from the wine experts and sell for around $100 a bottle. Indeed, last spring, a poll in Wine & Spirits magazine last spring, Muga scored as the most recognized Spanish wine available in restaurants in the U.S.
This Muga Rosado is a blend of some of Rioja Alta’s best known grapes - 60% Garnacha, 30% Viura and 10% Tempranillo. The Garnacha gives it a bright, grapey fruitiness and deep salmon coloring. The Viura (a white grape) lightens the mix with peachy fruit. And the Tempranillo (Rioja’s most prominent grape) gives a touch of tannic grip that makes the wine finish very dry. The crushed grapes spend only about 12 hours in contact with the grape skins, then the wine is fermented for 25 days in small wooden vats, where it is “aged” another 2 months before being bottled. This contact with oak (a Bodegas Muga signature) gives some notes of vanilla richness to the wine.
This is a light, dry, refreshing wine for late summer quaffing, but it also has the depth to stand up to barbecued meats or grilled seafood. An all-around excellent wine at an outstanding price.