BODEGAS MUGA PRADO ENEA GRAN RESERVA RIOJA 2015

The creme of Rioja red, Muga only makes this Gran Reserva in the best years. Select old vines from elevated vineyards produce such encompassing ripe fruit and savoury layering that it's hard to believe it's technically medium-bodied. It is fermented old-style, with natural yeast in large oak vats for a year, then a minimum three years in barrel and three in bottle before release. The heart and soul Rioja.

Winery notes (2015 Vintage)
"This Gran Reserva Prado Enea displays an attractive, deep, dense cherry-red colour. A stylish nose of black fruits mingling with spices, gingerbread and liquorice. The soft, supple entry on the palate leads to a sensation of gentle power and air-light volume underpinned by cashmere silky tannins, harmoniously balanced by fresh acidity. Creamy, vanilla notes come through in the finish with ripe fruit. This wine is tempting to drink now, but it will age well for years.

The grapes for Prado Enea are always the last to be harvested. This is because of the careful selection of high-altitude plots with a fine quality, located in the north-west of the Rioja Alta, in the villages of Sajazarra, Cellorigo and Fonzaleche. The grapes ferment in oak vats with no addition of yeast or temperature control. The maceration period is for 16 days. This is followed by a minimum 36 months in French and American oak casks. At the end of the cask ageing the wine is lightly fined with egg whites before bottling and is then stored in our cellars for at least another 36 months, in order to complete the ageing process."

Reviews for previous vintages below…

99/100 James Suckling (2011 Vintage)
"The most structured Prado Enea ever. A reduced centre palate that is so compact with dark fruit, dark mushrooms and cedary spice. Full body. Wonderfully polished tannins and a long, long finish. Electric acidity. Muscular and well toned. The is a new classic that reminds me of great Spanish wines from the 1940s and 1950s. Better after 2021, but already so impressive."

96/100 Luiz Gutierrez Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (2011 Vintage)
"The most classical of the wines from Muga, the 2011 Prado Enea Gran Reserva comes from a warm year that here was cooler than 2012, when they did not produce it. There won't be a 2013 either. So after this 2011, the following vintage will be 2014 but with fewer bottles and then 2015 and 2016. The wine has a developed nose with some tertiary notes, combined with some notes of ripe black fruit and sweet spices. It fees like an open, expressive and hedonistic year for Prado Enea. The palate reveals polished tannins and some balsamic and developed flavours, truffle, forest floor and hints of cigar ash and incense. Stylistically, this could be close to the 2006, which was also surprisingly fresh for the average ripeness found in Rioja in general. 92,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in early 2015 after almost 40 months in barrel. Time in bottle has polished the wine, and it's ready to drink on release, but it's a wine that is going to develop in bottle for a long time."

96/100 Sara Jane Evans MW, Decanter UK (2011 Vintage)
"Muga's wines just keeping getting better, whether you prefer a modern style or a grand classic as here. The Tempranillo blend includes 20% Graciano, Garnacha and Mazuelo, and is delightfully classical, from an exuberant vintage. It’s nevertheless very refined, mid-weight, with pure fruit and fine tannins. Sensible people may keep it in the cellar, but it’s lovely now."