Torre Muga Rioja 2020

Torre Muga Rioja, Bodega Muga, Spain, 2020   

Grapes: A blend of Tempranillo 75%, Mazuelo 15% and Graciano 10%, chalky clay & alluvial soils, hand harvested, wild yeast fermentation in oak vats (no temperature control), egg white fining, aged for 18 months in new French-oak barrels (Allier)

Producer Tasting Note:

In this 2020 vintage we find a wine with a deep robe and notable red colour that tells us it is still young and has a great potential for evolution.
Very high intensity on the nose with ripe fruit notes of blackberry and strawberry to the fore. Ageing aromas from the fine quality French oak also appear, with toasted and smoked notes and coffee, among others.  
On the palate it is powerful, with a return of the fine aromas detected on the nose. A good balance between the alcohol and acidity. The tannins are smooth and elegant. The finish is very long leaving a satisfying, full sensation.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"The more modern wine in the portfolio is the 2020 Torre Muga, which has notes of toast, smoke, sesame seeds, smoky bacon, spices, herbs and ripe berries. It is a wine they started producing in 1991, and the change in style also influenced the quality approach and selection of vineyards, grapes and oak for the barrels that they later applied to other wines. It has a polished palate with very fine tannins, chalky and elegant. It's a more approachable vintage, round, velvety and soft, though perhaps without the aging potential of 2021, but it’s very pleasant. It's long. They didn't bottle the 2020 from Aro, so some of those grapes might have finished in this bottle. It was bottled in December 2022." Drink 2024-2035

95/100 points, Luis Gutiérrez, WINE ADVOCATE, February 2024

"Torre is a bolder, more concentrated expression of Rioja from Muga. Meaty and tarry nose with smoked bacon. Lots of grilled herbs and some dark sweet spices. Powerful, broad and full-bodied on the palate with lots of vertical, dusty tannins that lead you towards the long, juicy finish. Tempranillo, mazuelo and graciano. Better from 2025."

96/100 points, James Suckling, 2024

"Lastly, the 2020 Torre Muga just about jumps out of the glass with its complex red and black fruits, savory flowers, tobacco, lead pencil shavings, and graphite-like aromatics. Plush, full-bodied, concentrated, and beautifully balanced, it shows the softer, more rounded style of the vintage and has ripe tannins and a great finish."

97/100 points, Jeb Dunnuck, July 2024

Also awarded 98/100 points by Tim Atkin MW, January 2024

The absolute classic food match with with roast leg of lamb & garlic. The winery even suggests pairing with grilled white fish.