2010 Bodegas Muga "Prado Enea" Gran Reserva Rioja (Pre-Arrival)
SKU #1347920
99 points
James Suckling
The wonderfully silky texture with an added juiciness is what makes this wine so very special. The flawless and seamless nature to the wine is so impressive that it takes you breath away. Plenty of beautiful fruit but what mouthfeel. Drink now and forever.
(1/2018)
97 points
Wine Advocate
This is the most classical among the wines in the portfolio, the one with the longer élevage, a little bit like the wines from yesteryear but with today's knowledge about vineyards and vinification/élevage. This has settled to a blend of approximately 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha and the remaining 10% between Mazuelo and Graciano, from the cooler, higher-altitude vineyards, which means they only bottle it every two or three years. In recent years, 2007 and 2008 were not bottled. It ferments in small oak vats built by their own tonneliers, and they like to delay malolactic until the spring by opening the windows so the cold from outside comes into the winery. For the aging, each variety goes into separate barrels racked from newer to older barrels to complete some 36 months or three years. It has very healthy and balanced parameters, and that's what the wine feels like. It's still young. It's never a dark wine, more of a ruby or bright color, and it has a nose of youth, subtle and elegant. But the quality shows in the unbelievable elegance and harmony on the palate, where the tannins are very fine, the flavors are subtle but deep and the length is just phenomenal. This is only medium-bodied, with perfect ripeness and integrated acidity. This should have a very long life in bottle, especially as I had the chance to check the evolution of the 2004 next to this. (LG)
(2/2018)
95 points
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2010 Prado Enea Gran Reserva checks in as 80% Tempranillo and the balance an even split of Garnacha, Mazuelo, and Graciano, all of which was destemmed and aged 36 months in oak and an additional 36 months in bottle. It’s a rocking, feral, wild bottle of wine that offers tons of smoky black fruits, graphite, crushed rock, and coffee bean-like aromas and flavors. Deep, rich, full-bodied, backward, and closed on the palate, it has a great mid-palate, terrific purity of fruit, and a great finish. Forget bottles for 4-5 years. (JD) 95+
(3/2018)
95 points
Vinous
(aged for 16 months in large oak vats, followed by three years in French oak barrels) Vivid ruby-red. A highly complex, expansive bouquet evokes ripe red berries, cherry liqueur, pipe tobacco and mocha, with a smoky mineral overtone lending urgency. Sweet, mineral-laced black raspberry, cherry-vanilla and floral pastille flavors show impressive depth and are complemented by suggestions of spicecake and bitter chocolate and show impressive back-end energy. Combines power and delicacy with a sure hand and finishes supple, sweet and very long, with silky tannins making a late appearance. (JD)
(2/2019)
K&L Notes
Prado Enea is the flagship wine at Muga, a steadfastly traditional Gran Reserva that is typically only produced four or so years per decade. A few key data points make it unique. Let's begin with the vines themselves, which are located in Sajazarra, a village amongst the coldest growing regions of Rioja Alta, further west from Haro and with harvest dates that typically extend well into October, even into November! In addition to Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, and approximately 10% Mazuelo and Graciano are blended in. This creates freshness as the latter two are higher acid grapes, which tends to result in fresh, low pH wines that age for long periods of time. Finally, in the cellar, there are various types and formats of wood vessels, from huge "tinas" to smaller new barrels, which are employed through experienced, time tested elevage to provide the wine ample opportunity to develop its stability and complexity. If this wine is a gem in most vintages, in years as strong as 2010 it truly is a must-have bottling for the cellar.
