Bodegas Muga 'Prado Enea' Rioja Gran Reserva 2014

95 Points Wine & Spirits

The Muga family got its start as winegrowers in Villalba, in the eastern mountains of Rioja Alta, where they still tend small parcels that provide some of their top selections, including Prado Enea. This wine ferments in large oak vats without added yeasts, then ages in mostly French oak barrels. Once bottled, it rests at least three years at the winery before release. Now seven years old, the wine’s luminous color seems to infuse its flavors, emphasizing mountain freshness rather than any overt acidity. Its red-fruit intensities range from boysenberry to cherry and cherry tomato, all of it layered into a texture that’s supple and complex. A classic with a long life ahead.