2006 Bodegas Muga "Prado Enea" Gran Reserva Rioja

A powerful and layered red with ripe berry, cedar and licorice notes. Roses and sandalwood. Full body, very deep and intense. Changing all the time in the glass. A superb wine. (7/2017)

The 2006 Prado Enea is a phenomenal bottle of traditional Rioja at its best. A blend of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha and the remaining 10% Mazuelo and Graciano aged for a long time in oak and bottled before release. This is a practice quite common from yesteryear, but that is a true rarity today. The technical data provided talks about incredible parameters, 14% alcohol and a pH of 3.39, both extremely low for a warm vintage like 2006. The grapes are sourced from higher-altitude terraced plots where the climate is cooler and drier and the soils are rich in clay. This is a wine that is not automatically produced every year. The wine spends its elevage in oak containers of different size, origin and age for no less than three years. The nose is intoxicating with a superb mixture of tertiary and more primary aromas like old furniture, cloves, cracked pepper, incense and cigar ash plus cherries in liqueur (that Garnacha!). The palate is medium-bodied, with great freshness (Jorge Muga tells me the pH is stabilized with aging in barrel), acidity and balance, with a silky texture, ultra-fine tannins and great persistence and length. This wine feels younger than it is, and seems to be aging at a glacial pace. With the stuffing and balance it has this should make very old bones, and drink greatly throughout its life. Superb! At this quality level the price seems like a bargain. (LG) (4/2015)

While the Muga family now produces some ultra-modern styles, this sits perfectly in a classical spot, all woodsmoke and red berries. The 80% Tempranillo matured for three years in cask makes for a finely balanced, typical Rioja. (SJE) (12/2020)

Highly fragrant scents of redcurrant, dried cherry, pipe tobacco, leather and rose oil. Lively and precise on the palate, offering deeply pitched red fruit and floral pastille flavors and a hint of black pepper. The youthfully tight finish features excellent clarity and lingering spiciness. (JR) (9/2015)

Cedar, char and blackberry aromas are full and ripe on the nose. Given the wine’s age, its structure and tannic weight are just right. Earthy, lightly roasted flavors of spiced raspberry and plum finish peppery and dry. (MS) (2/2015)

The dense texture carries harmonious flavors of plum, tobacco, licorice, mineral and smoke in this polished red. Well-integrated tannins and orange peel acidity keep this balanced. The floral, spicy finish brings you back for another sip. (TM) (2/2015)

Black fruit which is subdued when compared with the 2005. Soft but fibrous tannin. 17/20 points (RH) (12/2015)