Grupo Berceo Luis Gurpegui Muga Blanco Fermentado En Barrica, Rioja DOCa, Spain

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I also retasted the 2015 Muga Blanco Fermentado en Barrica to check its evolution, as it's a wine that is often overlooked and ages much better than we all think. It's yeasty and lightly nutty, in a Burgundian style. In fact, I think this is the white to drink now. 140,000 bottles produced.

The 2014 Muga Blanco Fermentado en Barrica (Barrel Fermented Blanco) is a blend of the white grapes from Rioja, Viura, Malvasía Riojana and some others, which fermented in oak barrels (mostly from Nevers in France and from Hungary) where it matures in contact with the fine lees until February next to the vintage (4-5 months in total). This wine has an extremely low pH, 3.05, responsible for its brightness and its limpid, pale color. The wine was bottled a couple of weeks before my tasting, but does not show any signs of fatigue. This is a fruit-forward white, subtle and elegant, with some minerality, white flowers and fruit. The palate is soft, with integrated acidity and very clean, focused flavors. It's a gentle white with less acidity than 2013 (which was sold out pretty quickly), easy to drink. Approachable, but will last more than what most people think. 140,000 bottles produced.

The 2012 Barrel Fermented Blanco is from an extremely dry vintage that required a strict selection of the white grapes that are intermixed with the reds in the old vineyards. It’s 90% Viura with the rest Malvasia. The must is fermented in new, mostly Nevers, 500-liter oak barrels with partial malolactic (about 20%) and aged for five months in contact with their lees. 150,000 bottles were produced. The Mugas have been paying special attention to their whites and I’ve seen a big improvement in this barrel-fermented bottling. It has a flowery, clean nose with notes of white fruit and spices. The palate is fresh with well-integrated oak, pungent, spicy flavors and good acidity. Drink 2014-2016. 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

Mainly Viura blended with Malvasia and Garnacha Blanca, the 2011 Barrel-fermented Blanco remains on its lees for three months in Allier French oak. It has a subtle, vanilla and almond-scented bouquet with fine definition. The palate is well-balanced with coconut and almond on the entry. I discerned a slight honeyed tincture and a pleasing creamy, patisserie finish. Drink now-2016. Bodegas Muga was a must during my afternoon visiting the triumvirate of classic Rioja producers located within spitting distance from each other in Haro. The name should need no introduction. It was founded by Aurora Cano and her husband Isaac in 1932, although the family were growers and did not commence winemaking themselves until the 1960s, when they relocated to the building in Barrio de la Estacion. Under Aurora’s son, Isaac Jnr, who joined us for the tasting, Muga fostered a reputation for high quality, classic Rioja wine sourced from an almost incalculable number of tiny parcels. During the 1990s they branched out to pursue what you might call “modern” Rioja with the inception of “Torre Muga” in 1991. This move may have piqued those that feared Muga was forsaking their classical roots, though those fears were unfounded and the bodega continues to fashion wines that embrace both styles. However, let us commence with their sparkling contribution to the Rioja landscape. Importer: Jorge Ordonez, Fine Estates from Spain, Dedham, MA; tel. (781) 461-5767

This traditional bodega in the Rioja Alta owns 100 acres of vineyards, and supplements the estate-produced fruit with purchased grapes. I have never been a great fan of their white wines, but the newest offering, the 1996 Barrel Fermented white, is a major improvement. A blend of Malvasia and Vieura, the wine exhibits a Muscat-like fragrance with lilac aromas in the background. Some oak does come through, but along with aggressive wood, the wine possesses excellent fruit and personality. Drink it over the next 1-2 years. Importer: Jorge Ordonez, Fine Estates From Spain, Dedham, MA; tel. (617) 461-5767