Bodega Muga

The Muga family has been in Rioja for several generations. The great-grandfather was the foreman of La Rioja Alta, SA and the grandfather of the generation that currently runs the winery, Isaac, met his future wife, Aurora Caño, there. With it he founded his own winery in some underground cellars on the main street of Haro; It was 1932 and Bodegas Muga was born. In that same year, the family began buying and selling wine in bulk and began to gain notoriety in the region thanks to its clarets. We would have to wait for the 2nd generation to start making and labeling the first wines of our own (1968, Muga Crianza), as well as to give shape to the current building, a beautiful Rioja mansion in the Barrio de la Estación in Haro to which the family moved. moved in 1970.

The 3rd generation is picking up the baton from the brothers Manuel and Isacín. Manu, Juan and Eduardo, the former's children, handle the commercial and management reins, while their sister Ana, who lives in Madrid, takes care of communication. His cousins, sons of Isacín, control viticulture and oenology; Jorge is focused on reds while Isaac concentrates on whites and rosés. There will soon be a fourth generation working in the winery.

Bodegas Muga has about 300 hectares of its own vineyards, which represents ¾ of its total production. The influences of the Mediterranean, Atlantic and continental climates come together in great harmony, creating an ideal climatic space for the grapes in each of the estates.

Estepal is a unique place in Rioja, one of the terroirs that best defines the typicality of the wines made in Haro. Its geological and climatic characteristics give the wines a marked personality with great aging potential.

La Loma is an exceptional vineyard located a few kilometers from Haro, on a plateau with a very particular geological structure and fantastic protection from the cold northern winds.

Baltracones are the first vineyards owned by the Muga family. The high-end wines come from this paradisiacal place with reddish soils located at 475 meters above sea level.

La Loma Alta is one of the youngest vineyards, planted with a selection of its own vines.

Sajazarra is located at the highest altitude of La Rioja, in a border area of ​​cultivation that generates very good acidity and aging potential.

The grapes received in the winery are analyzed to determine the degree, acidity, color and phytosanitary status. Depending on these parameters, they are classified by quality. Subsequently, the bunches pass through the selection table and the destemmers, introducing the grapes, then, into the fermentation vats.

Bodegas Muga has 4 fermentation rooms with 90 wooden vats whose capacities vary from 3,000 to 15,000 kilos. Thanks to this, they can individually vinify the grapes based on their quality and vineyard of origin.

Faithful to traditional methods, Bodegas Muga uses oak throughout the production process (fermentation, aging and storage). In fact, it is one of the few Spanish wineries that has three coopers and a cuber, in charge of working the oak wood to build the barrels and vats themselves. Bodegas Muga opted for trades that were disappearing in the 80s and 90s, completely getting it right.

Aging in barrels ranges between 24 and 36 months. Every four months it will be racked by gravity, to eliminate impurities precipitated during aging and facilitate oxygenation of the wine.

Before bottling, it is clarified using the traditional fresh egg white method, which consists of adding two to three fresh egg whites per hectoliter of wine so that they carry away the impurities and soften the tannins. The whites, along with the impurities, will be mixed with manure to produce a compost with which the vineyards will be fertilized, thus closing the circle.

Once bottled, the wine will continue to refine in the bottle between 9 months for the Crianza and 36 months for the Prado Enea Gran Reserva.