Muga Blanco Fermentado en Barrica 2023

Are you looking for a white that is surprisingly impressive and comes at a very reasonable price? The quality is guaranteed by one of La Rioja’s best and longest-running producers and the surprise too: don’t expect a typical barrel-fermented white, with notes acquired from ageing, as this is the complete opposite: a fresh white, with a lovely bouquet and very lively. The impact of fruits, flowers, nature… is unexpected on the nose and surprising. The Viura is not exactly a very aromatic variety but that 10% of Malvasía really pervades the wine’s character, and moreover, although this is a white which ferments in barrel, any trace of wood is so slight as to be almost indiscernible, especially when newly released. With time, the great ally of those who are truly in the know, this wine will develop other nuances, but who would want to keep it when it is so wonderful right now! In appearance, Muga Blanco is bright, very clean, a very pale straw-yellow colour with some brand-new gold hues too on the rim. It boasts fairly thick tears and gives a hint of the creaminess that we detect both on the nose and again on the palate; this is a white with body and volume. But let’s give prominence to the nose: its perfume is fragrant with the fresh and penetrating aromas of countryside flowers, the spring-time aromas of a meadow covered with flowers, and white fruits are there too, such as white peaches and pears, ripe and juicy fruits touched with citrus and on a sweetish background; some tropical notes (subtle) appear too and also some saline ones, of white stones and dry fennel. A point worth noting is that 2012 was an exceptionally dry year, and that dryness, which the Viura bore well, is perceived on the nose: the sweetness of the fruit is very well-balanced by good acidity. An elegant, vivid and natural perfume. The entry is balanced, fresh, here more citrus than sweet, just right for offsetting a bitterness that is virtually non-existent; an oily, fleshy mouth-feel, with a warm, spirited persistence, which sees the return of notes discerned on the nose.