Torre Muga 2021

The 2021 Torre Muga was produced with Tempranillo, Mazuelo and Graciano grapes from 55+-year-old vines in the zones of Labastida, Briñas and Villalba de Rioja between 480 and 560 meters in altitude. The grapes were destemmed and put through an optical sorting machine and fermented in small oak vats with indigenous yeasts. The wine matured in new French oak barrels for 18 months on average, as the different varieties aged separately. It has 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.56 and 5.6 grams of acidity, pretty standard parameters here. It's very toasty and smoky, their most modern red, with abundant notes of smoked bacon and fried corn, showy and extroverted. It has the great tannins from the year, elegant and polished, one of the finest vintages for Torre Muga, along with 2016 and 2010. They have been buying better oak for their barrels in the last few years, and the oak feels better integrated and more elegant. The wine is still a little young and should get better with time in bottle. 37,355 bottles produced. It was bottled in October 2023.. - Luis Gutiérrez.