Winemaker Notes
The 2023 vintage of Muga Blanco has a pale, straw-yellow color. On the nose proves a complex wine with aniseed and citrus notes, such as lemon and lemon cake, a touch of white blossom and even some vanilla nuances. On the palate the crisp acidity is well balanced by the volume. This is a complex wine in which the citrus and floral notes reappear, together with stone fruit and a very long finish.
A perfect match for grilled fish, shellfish and rice dishes, among others. Ideal for enjoying by the glass, as an aperitif or together with a small snack on a terrace.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Attractive nose with a subtle creamy touch to the melon, cantaloupe and nectarines. Crisp and dry, with a medium body and touches of salinity and phenolics at the end. Viura, malvasia and garnacha blanca. An early harvest from this hot vintage, which is crucial to keeping the acidity and liveliness of this wine. 60% fermented in barrels and the rest on the lees.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Rioja stole my heart decades ago when I traveled extensively around the globe. Jorge Ordóñez and I bonded in Spain and Dedham, MA, where his company is headquartered. I learned early how passionate he is. Bodega Muga is an outstanding winery, and the 2023 Blanco is out-of-this-world! Pair the wine's sandalwood, Meyer lemons, and tart, earthy notes with linguine and clams in a light garlic and black pepper sauce. (Tasted: June 20, 2024, San Francisco, CA)
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Jeb Dunnuck
The classic white from this great estate is the 2023 Muga Blanco, which is based on 70% Viura and 30% Garnacha Blanca and Malvasía Riojana. Light gold-hued, with notes of crushed pineapple, lemon candy, and honeyed flowers, it has medium-bodied richness, a pretty, elegant mouthfeel, good acidity, and outstanding length.
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Wine Spectator
A lively, open-knit white, with a snappy mix of kiwifruit, tangerine peel and almond skin notes. Chalky finish. Viura, Malvasia and Garnacha Blanca. Drink now. 20,000 cases made, 5,000 cases imported.
Bodegas Muga is a family firm founded in 1932 by Isaac Muga and Aurora Caño. The first wines were made in an underground cellar, until in 1968 they decided to set up their own winery in a beautiful old 19th-century town-house situated in the city of Haro. The Bodegas Muga outstanding feature is that it always uses the finest materials, combining tradition with the latest advances in winemaking so as always to give its wines the very best quality without losing authenticity. Indeed, it is the only wine cellar in Spain which employs its own master cooper and coopers, who make all the vats for the cellar as well as the oak casks. The winery remains true to traditional winemaking methods such as racking the casks by gravity and fining the wine with fresh egg whites. Bodegas Muga has succeeded in combining the purest family tradition with an updated vision of the future which has allowed them to preserve their own personality and character.
With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
Highly regarded for distinctive and age-worthy red wines, Rioja is Spain’s most celebrated wine region. Made up of three different sub-regions of varying elevation: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental. Wines are typically a blend of fruit from all three, although specific sub-region (zonas), village (municipios) and vineyard (viñedo singular) wines can now be labeled. Rioja Alta, at the highest elevation, is considered to be the source of the brightest, most elegant fruit, while grapes from the warmer and drier Rioja Oriental produce wines with deep color and higher alcohol, which can add great body and richness to a blend.
Fresh and fruity Rioja wines labeled, Joven, (meaning young) see minimal aging before release, but more serious Rioja wines undergo multiple years in oak. Crianza and Reserva styles are aged for one year in oak, and Gran Reserva at least two, but in practice this maturation period is often quite a bit longer—up to about fifteen years.
Tempranillo provides the backbone of Rioja red wines, adding complex notes of red and black fruit, leather, toast and tobacco, while Garnacha supplies body. In smaller percentages, Graciano and Mazuelo (Carignan) often serve as “seasoning” with additional flavors and aromas. These same varieties are responsible for flavorful dry rosés.
White wines, typically balancing freshness with complexity, are made mostly from crisp, fresh Viura. Some whites are blends of Viura with aromatic Malvasia, and then barrel fermented and aged to make a more ample, richer style of white.