2001 Bodegas Muga Rioja Torre Muga

Community Tasting Notes (144) Avg Score: 92.4 points

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  9/23/2023 - Joelene wrote: 94 Points

  Big wine, really good, tasted bling and guessed 20 year old Rioja over $100…. Drinking well now but just starting to develop a touch of terciary cualities so airy this will age nicely for another decade or two.

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  7/23/2022 - walkerjfw wrote: 93 Points

  Chez Christy - getting the band back together - Brian/Jen, Pat/Arantza (Oxford, Maryland): Been a few years since visiting with this vintage. Decanted and strained, past bottles had some sediment, this one no different. Had this open for about an hour prior to drinking, had with the cheeses for a quick taste and had some with the beef
  
  Dark and opaque/cloudy garnet, some thinning at the edge. Nose showing red fruits, cedar, saddle leather. Classic Rioja palate, rustic and fruit forward. Dark cherry, orange zest. Dry and smooth palate. Medium body and finish.
  
  Took about 30 minutes to show at the start. In a good spot right now, should drink at this level for a while. Fully mature (IMO) not going to improve much from here. Great showing on this night

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  3/22/2022 - forceberry wrote: 95 Points

  The flagship wine of Muga, made only in vintages great enough. The wine is a classic Tempranillo blend with small amounts of Mazuelo and Graciano. Fermented spontaneously, macerated for two to three weeks in oak vats. Aged for 18 months in new French oak barriques. 14% alcohol.
  
  Dense, concentrated and quite opaque black cherry color with an evolved brick-red hue. Considering how the wine should be a textbook example of a modernist Rioja, it smells surprisingly rustic and funky with aromas of barnyard and horse's arse, followed by evolved nuances of wizened figs, some bretty notes of leather, a little bit of ripe strawberry, light pruney tones, a hint of forest floor, a touch of cherry marmalade and a boozy whiff of alcohol. The wine feels dense, dry and concentrated on the palate with a full body and savory flavors of ripe plums, wild strawberries, some extracted bitter notes of woody oak, light ferrous notes of blood, a little bit of meaty umami, bretty hints of leather saddle and stable floor and a touch of toasty oak spice. The overall feel is somewhat extracted and quite muscular, thanks to the high acidity and still moderately grippy medium-plus tannins. The high alcohol lends a little bit of warmth to the palate. The finish is long, somewhat extracted and moderately grippy with dry flavors of bretty barnyard funk, some ferrous notes of blood, a little bit of ripe cranberry, light sweet pruney tones, a hint of savory wood spice and a touch of old leather.
  
  For a modernist blockbuster - a style I really don't like, especially when it comes to Rioja - this was a surprisingly impressive, harmonious and delicious effort. Surprisingly funky, too - and in a good way! The wine certainly showed some very rustic animale notes, which stood in quite a stark contrast to the relatively concentrated and extracted nature of the wine, which had resolved quite little in these 20 years. All in all, a very serious, well-made and enjoyable effort that was certainly quite big and extracted for a Rioja, but at the same time remarkably harmonious and tasty for such. Highly recommended.

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  12/26/2021 - ERoss Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Double decanted. Well rounded, fully mature bottle. Opens with violets, black fruits, light tar. Decent core and lingering finish. Not austere or delicate, but throughly enjoyable.

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  10/29/2021 - Harley1199 wrote: flawed

  Opened half an hour before lunch. Long cork in perfect condition. Deep ruby colour with watery edges. It displays its modern character on the nose with notes of black olives, artichoke-like vegetables or even roasted coffee. Restrained and very shy, it needed to be shaken for a while in the glass to release aromas of red berries. Anyway it seems that wood never finished to integrate properly and mazuelo grape won. Very atypical for a 2001 anyway. In the mouth density is crushed by a brimming acidity. Slightly unbalanced but with good length. A warm wine with an abrupt finish. Unusual and almost failed in my humble opinion. A Rioja devoid of interest. Drinkable and anything else. Really disappointed with this heavy bottle. The Dark Side of Muga if compared with last SE.
  
  Abierta media hora antes del almuerzo. Largo corcho en perfecta condición. Profundo color rubí con bordes acuosos. Hace gala de su carácter moderno en nariz con notas a olivas negras, vegetales tipo alcachofas o incluso café tostado. Restringido y muy tímido, necesitó ser agitado un buen rato en copa para liberar aromas a bayas rojas. De todas formas pareciera que la madera nunca terminó de integrarse adecuadamente y la mazuelo ganó. Muy atípico para ser un 2001 de todas formas. En boca la densidad es aplastada por una bribrante acidez. Ligeramente desequilibrado pero con buena longitud. Un vino cálido y de final abrupto. Inusual y casi fallido en mi humilde opinión. Un Rioja carente de interés. Bebible sin más. Muy desilusionado con esta botella pesada. El lado oscuro de Muga comparada con la última SE.

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