Bodegas Muga Aro 2009

Professional Ratings

• 95 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  The 2009 Aro is a blend of 30% Graciano and 70% Tempranillo. (The Muga family prefer blending to the pursuance of mono-varietals.) The Graciano is very expressive on the nose, lending it effervescence and animation, delivering scents of Indian ink, cassis and orange sorbet. The palate is very well-balanced with supple, saturated and grippy tannins. There is patently very well judged acidity and wonderful sense of symmetry and focus towards the finish. Intriguingly, it closes up in the glass, the tannins becoming more abrasive as if to say: "Don’t come back for several years, mate." Drink 2019-2035.
• 95 James Suckling

  So rich and decadent on the nose with dark berries, bark, tar and perfume, following through to a full body with rich, ripe flavors of licorice, aniseed, dark fruit and a hint of grilled meat. Goes on for minutes. Delicious now, but a long life ahead.

• 94 Wine Spectator
  This red delivers bold flavors of blackberry, pomegranate, licorice, tobacco and toast, structured by full, well-integrated tannins and lively acidity. The texture is lacy, but there's plenty of power in reserve.
• 91 Wine & Spirits
  A blend of tempranillo (70 percent) with graciano, this ages in large wooden vats for six months, then new French oak barrels for 18 months before bottling. It’s a tight 2009, showing some youthful reduction in cracked black pepper scents and the hard edges of its tannins. The fruit feels deeply umami, adding savor to the dark bitter chocolate richness. Destined for the cellar, this wine’s complexities will build out of its tannins as the fruit comes forward with age.