When I was a kid one of my favorite things was my Mom’s zucchini bread. She’d usually make it once or twice in the summer, if the house wasn’t too hot to have the stove on for a while. But as I grew older and had moved out on my own I hadn’t had it in many years. Last winter my Mom asked what I wasnted for my birthday and I said, “a loaf of your zucchini bread!” She laughed and then when the day came sure enough she came through. I was thrilled and she said, “I’ll make it again in the summer with good fresh zucchini and it’ll be better.” Yesterday we were together for a small family dinner and when my folks arrived she had a grin on her face and handed it over! What a fun little thing, but as I enjoyed a piece (or two) for breakfast this morning I was thinking about the icons of our taste. Our first “FAVORITE WINE” or “those amazing Lamb Chops from Circa!”
Yesterday we grilled pizzas and had a bottle of Muga Rioja Reserva 2011. An icon of my taste if ever there was one. One sniff of Muga and I am transported to a good place, the wine remains mostly the same as it always was, a traditionally styled Rioja with aging in large oak barrels for 24 months and then bottling with additional cellar time of 12 more months. This exceeds the time required by the Rioja laws to carry the Reserva designation, but the Muga family refers to the aging as refining, and a refined wine it is indeed.
Muga Rioja Reserva 2011
I love this wine, dating back 20 years, to when I was first learning about wine, the gorgeous black cherry and tobacco flavors rounded out by soft plush American Oak. The 2011 delivers all that I remember from this wine and as you’ll see below the wine has achieved the triple crown, with 90 points scores (or higher) from the three main wine publications.
We have the wine in stock and the price is activated for the week, so feel free to contact me to place an order, or stop by the store, or call!
“It is a Rioja that mixes the traditional and modern character with ripe fruit and contains oak aromas that are quite spicy and have some toast and smoke that should integrate with a bit of time in bottle. The palate is medium-bodied, has clean flavors that are balanced with sweet tannins. This is easy to drink, pleasant but not banal, and delivers a lot for its price. An impressive half-million bottles are produced of this wine, which is sold as Crianza in Spain and as Reserva in the rest of the world. Year after year, one of the most reliable and affordable Reservas. 91+ points.” Wine Advocate, Luis Gutierrez
“Smoky, tarry notes frame plum, loamy earth and mineral flavors in this savory red. Tart acidity enlivens the plush texture, while firm tannins keep this focused. 90 points” Thomas Matthews Wine Spectator
“Deep ruby. Spice-accented aromas of dark berries, cherry pit, chocolate and candied rose, with a smoky element emerging slowly. Densely packed and sharply focused, with zesty acidity adding lift and cut to the wine’s bitter cherry and redcurrant flavors. Finishes with silky, building tannins, a kick of peppery spices and strong spicy persistence. By all means give this youthful wine some aeration. 91 points.” Josh Raynolds, Vinous Media
