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Viinin Kuvailu
The Story
Along with the grapes for Torre Muga, the Prado Enea grapes are always the last to be brought into the winery. In this way we ensure an ideal level of ripeness. The grapes are always fermented in 10,000 kilo capacity oak vats without temperature control and no addition of yeasts. The maceration period varies but can continue for as long as twenty days. This wine is aged for 12 months in 16,000-litre oak vats, thirty-six months (minimum) in oak casks and thirty-six months (minimum) in the bottle. After ageing it is lightly fined using fresh egg whites.
Wine Information
Prado Enea – Bodegas Muga
During decades of 1870 and 1880 there was a great increase of wine production in Spain, due to the destruction of vineyards in France by mildew and phylloxera. It was during this period when many great wineries in Rioja were founded, oriented to the production of wines to be exported to France. Antonio Muga was one of the viticulturists selling wine in bulk to be exported to France.
Competing in such a complex market, many grape-growers joined to create bigger and more competitive wineries. This was the origin of Rioja Alta -winery where Jorge Caño participated from its foundation in 1890, as the foreman of the winery. Jorge Caño was the great grand father of the actual foreman of Bodegas Muga.
Bodegas Muga S.A. was established in 1932, but the real spirit of the winery began with the marriage of Aurora Caño, daughter of Jorge Caño, and Isaac Muga, grandson of Antonio Muga, in 1935.
Unfortunately bad times came: the Spanish Civil War, General Franco’s dictatorship of 36 years, and ruined and isolated post-war Spain. The economical difficulties and the limitations of the old winery forced the young couple to elaborate just young wines.
Finally luck changed and they got the chance to buy the perfect building for the winery of their dreams – an old building, placed in the historical “Barrio de la estación”. In 1968 they were ready to elaborate and age their first wine Gran Reserva. The dream had started. Isaac Muga passed away during the harvest of 1969, just one year after starting the new project. After so many years of hard work he did not live to see a Gran Reserva wine labelled with the name Muga. Jorge Muga, born in 1971, has directed the winemaking since 1998.
The vineyards of Bodegas Muga can be found in the first valley of the north: the valley of the river Oja (Rio Oja). This valley is the coolest in Rioja and the vineyards of Prado Enea can be found at the top of the valley. This is a very risky place because they very often get a spring frost, the soil is less fertile than in the bottom of the valley and when the summer is not warm enough the grapes sometimes fail to ripen properly. But, experience shows that when the vintage is good this is one of the best places in Rioja. That is why Prado Enea is made once every two or three years. The soil is defined by two important characteristics: a very good proportion of clay and a high content in calcium. The depth is variable from 1 to 7 meters. The rock in the subsoil is usually margaux and less often sand-rock. When the soil is not very deep the roots can go through the rock as it often fragments. The clay retains water for a long time and releases it very slowly, so these vineyards are never thirsty even though it rains less in this part of the valley. The vineyards planted over clay soil usually have a very important mineral component in the wines so they are longer and wider in taste.
Vineyard soil: Clay-Calcareous and Alluvial
Grape varieties: 80% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano
Harvest method: hand picked
Winemaking: Following traditional methods, Bodegas Muga uses oak throughout all the wine-making process - fermentation, ageing and storage
Ageing: 24 to 36 months in oak casks. After bottling the wine remains in the cellars of the estate for 36 months.
Muga Winery
Barrio de la Estación s/n
26200 Haro, La Rioja
Spain
Tel. +34 941 31 18 25
Fax. +34 941 31 28 67
info@bodegasmuga.com
www.bodegasmuga.com