TN: 2005 Bodegas Muga Rioja Gran Reserva Prado Enea

2005 Bodegas Muga Rioja Gran Reserva Prado Enea - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja (6/6/2019)
Served blind at our tasting group, this was the highlight of the evening for me. The host opened, but did not decant, about three hours before serving. Coming off a prior wine in the lineup that had shown quite rich and jammy, this was a model of restraint. Modest red fruit, spice, firm tannins and freshening acidity put this squarely in the “classic” camp. The balance of fruit and tannin was tilted a bit towards structure, but overall it drank quite well. Certainly some cellar time could soften up the tannins a bit. Check in periodically to make sure the structure does not outlast the fruit.

Posted from CellarTracker

Thanks David. How was the oak? I had a 2006 last year, and it was a block of tannins and unintegrated oak.

I’ve had quite a few of these but none more recent than the 2004 vintage, and the oldest one being a very good 1970 about 4-5 years ago. Each I had, I would put squarely into the classic camp.

I’m not David, but if I may just chime in, I found oak to be visible with young versions I had, but played well with the overall structure and unlike, say, La Rioja Alta’s 904 at the same age, whose oak presence combined with the dill notes overwhelm the flavor for me. I still also like aged 904s/890s, though

I love the Prado Enea and buy it most every year, when I can find it for a reasonable price. (I suspect it’s only got a couple more years before it’s in the $100 range, and which point I quit buying almost any wine).

I’m currently watching actively for the 2010…On a recent trip to Spain I drink the 2010 with almost every restaurant meal, as it was always about $50-$60 on most of the wine lists and was absolutely delicious! I haven’t found too much oak to be an issue with this wine (although the use of American Oak for Rioja can be a big turn off and non-starter for a lot of folks, as it is very distinctive and divisive, particularly when it presents its characteristic dill pickle smell and taste.). The oak that IS present here, does not, to my taste, show much if any “dill” (in contrast to the aforementioned La Rioja Alta wines).

Right now most of my usual retailers only have the '09 available…'09 is another beauty, but I’ve already got my quota on it, and it’s not quite as spectacular as the 2010 (at least not the 2010 as it tasted in Spain–sometimes I find that wine, especially Italian and Spanish wine, seems to degrade a bit during the multi-channel distribution process).

Nobody at the table found the oak excessive. It’s there, but not at all out of balance.

We had the same from a magnum at Jose Andres “Meat” in Vegas. Quite a wonderful wine and a great deal.

My local retailers had the 2010’s about a year ago (May 2018) for about $65/bottle and they’ve now sold out, so I’m guessing the '09 is left over from a few years back. Haven’t tried either yet.

We had the 2011 Prado Enea at the winery a few weeks ago and it was not only the highlight of the Muga tasting but our group’s consensus favourite wine out of all the 5 wineries we visited (Muga/Rioja Alta/CVNE/Lopez/Riscal).

Interestingly this was the only wine of the 5 wine flight that Muga (or any of the other wineries) served in a burgundy stem, and it made perfect sense. The 2011 was all balance and class, understated but powerful and complex. The oak was very subtle and well integrated. We ended up grabbing a magnum of the 2010 as that was the only large format they had in the Prado and we could only bring a handful of bottles back to Canada, otherwise I would have grabbed 2 cases of the 2011 in a heartbeat, at around 40 euros IIRC.

Archive.

I enjoyed the 2011 GR at a tasting downtown last night.3hr decant, light cherry color. Subtle oak, blackberry, prunish. Cherry and nice savoury spice. Fine tannins, hint of sweetness. But $90 Cdn.

Nice note and I said 5 to 10 years back in 2015. Always enjoyed the Muga portfolio.

2005 Bodegas Muga Rioja Gran Reserva Prado Enea - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja (1/24/2015)
Young and will develop. Perfume, oak, spices, currants and minerals. Not too tannic and showing some complexity on the finish. Medium to long finish and should evolve over the course of five to ten years. A good buy. (92 points)

supposedly the 11 is good. I have a few of them in the cellar.

I’m going back to San Sebastián just to drink some more 85 Prado Enea (and to eat of course).

I had it a few months after you did - on a very warm mid-May 2015 Sunday evening at Bodeguita Romero in Sevilla (after a tarde de toros with my wife and 2 of my sons). I asked if they had any older vintages of it; but they didn’t; so I had it decanted for the later dishes.
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Somewhat similar to your notes: obviously young, spicy, a bit heady; but showed good body/heft, concentration, structure, drive, and over-all promise.

I remember that day well. It was the first time my sons watched a bullfight. They were enthusiastic at first; but quieted down when it fully dawned on them that the bulls would actually be slain. In an attempt to lighten things, I asked quipped: “Where do you think all the chuletónes you eat come from?”
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that was a more interesting time than I had it at my house!