Bodegas Muga

Although I only had time to check out one La Rioja vineyard since it was almost the end of the day. .. I picked out the right one. .. Bodegas Muga. I did not have time to go on the wine tour, but I tried several of their wines. I would have bought a couple, but this was just a day trip. The services was great and the wine was even better.
I would go here again one of these days.

We came up to Haro for some wine tasting and this was one of the Bodegas we visited.
What a treat! The tour was very informational– not boring at all.
The way that Bodegas Muga takes care with crafting everything by hand (including the barrels) made the experience all that much better.
Please make a reservation if you plan on visiting. I emailed them and they were quick to respond and work with me.

Quel plaisir de découvrir cet endroit pour une petite dégustation. Tout est bien expliqué dans cette boutique moderne et design. 7 € 50 la dégustation de 5 vins (1 blanc et 4 rouges) avec des verres à moitié remplis (compter 12 € pour verre entier)
C’est très agréable d’être au bar, cependant pas très emballée par les vins pour ma part (ms c’est une question de goût). Très bon accueil

By far my favorite Bodega of all Bodegas!
Sure, I’m a little biased, I’ve been a Muga lover for many years and the Torre Muga Reserva Rioja has long been my preferred go to for a really nice bottle of Spanish wine. In a word, I was really excited to be here. Ok, that’s more than a word, but yes, admittedly, this winery was tops to visit on my list and, fortunately, did not disappoint in the slightest.
Big, beautiful, modern and clean, the space was impressive from start to finish. Muga really pulls off an amazing mix of contemporary (think: tasting rooms, wine bar and complete audiovisual room) and old world vineyard (think: cavernous dining room with fireplace, old wine-​working tools, by-​hand french oak barrel making).
My group of four had pre-​reserved a private tour in English (this is the way to go!) and our tour guide, Carmen, was the utmost in delightful hospitality. Not only was she super well informed, but warm, friendly and really passionate about the Muga brand and product. Loved that! We really could not say enough fabulous things about her.
The tour was fully comprehensive taking us through the growing process, barrel making, aging, candling, cooperage, distributing and, of course, tasting. Finally! Bring on the vino! Included in the tour (which is 6 € /​person) are also two tasting wines, the Muga cask-​fermented Rioja Blanco and Reserva Selección Rioja. But if that’s not enough to wet your whistle — it wasn’t for us — additional glasses of Muga’s signature vintages can be found for as little as 1 € in their tasting room. Wine cheaper than water? I’ll take it!

I learned about Muga Rioja from some Spanish friends oddly enough over Brasilian Rodizio. If you’re a lover of the carne, a good Rioja complements hearty beef/​lamb/​red meat dishes well. The magic of the Tempranillo grape, aka the «noble grape» is legendary. Muga happens to be an excellent price performance value with a very good bottle obtainable for ~$ 30 US. Compare that to another Tempranillo wine like Pingus which can run 15x of that. You could get a case+ of Muga instead!