2010 Muga Aro

The 2010 Aro is a truly unique wine, a limited cuvee (4,000 bottles) of 70% Tempranillo and 30% Graciano from the cooler vineyards used for Torre Muga, Prado Enea and Reserva. The idea is a bit challenging, as growing Graciano in these vineyards is not so easy, but in 2010 it had perfect ripening as it was a long and slow maturation cycle. The grapes were fermented in 2,000-liter oak vats and aged for 16 months in new French oak barrels. It’s deep purple-colored, very aromatic, open and expressive with exuberant notes of violets, ripe peach, blueberries and smoke followed by an elegant palate that is shiny and showing complexity already. It’s extremely young and powerful, a bit wild but elegant, with balanced acidity. It needs some bottle aging to develop its bouquet and resolve those fine tannins. It should be a long-lasting wine. A superb vintage for Aro, big, powerful and so elegant. Drink 2017-2030+. ||I think the Muga family wines have been going from strength to strength and they are offering superbly-crafted wines from their cellars in the Barrio de la Estacion in Haro. I’ve seen a big change in Prado Enea starting with the 2004 vintage. As it happens, some of their wines are selling faster than they are produced (as they are not necessarily offered in every vintage) and they had no Prado Enea to show. The next vintage will be 2006, but there will be none in 2007 or 2008 and they need to fill the gap until the 2009 is released. The vintage of Torre Muga and Aro on the market is already 2010. There’s no stainless steel whatsoever at Muga, they have kept true to their beliefs, and all their wines are fermented in oak vats of different sizes. The winery has its own cooperage to mend these old vats and build their own barrels. I spoke to winemaker Jorge Muga during the harvest and he told me 2013 is a very difficult year, the most difficult he remembers ever. Mind you, he’s a young guy.||Imported by Jorge Ordonez, Fine Estates from Spain, Dedham, MA; tel. (781) 461-5767 Wine Advocate.December, 2013