Tasting notes: Muerza Crianza Bodegas Ugalde
Muerza Crianza Bodegas Ugalde. Bright, medium intensity. Complex array of aromas on the nose, with notes of red fruits and liquorice and subtle hints of toast, spices and cinnamon. Silky, pleasant and enveloping on the palate, long, balanced, with very good tannins.
Food match:
Perfect to drink with a lamb casserole, roast lamb or even beef or cheese,
.Producer/Region :
Established in 1882 by Felipe Ugalde, one of the founding members of the Rioja D.O.C., Bodegas Ugalde it is one of the few wineries which made wine during the Spanish Civil War (1936 -1938). Nestled between the North shore of the Ebro River and the Eastern-most skirts of the Sierra de Cantabria, the Ugalde team looked back on history and were inspired by Ugalde’s vision of 1882: Bringing Rioja terroir, as the new team understands it, into each bottle of Bodegas Ugalde.
With vineyards planted in very diverse altitudes and types of soils –clayey, chalky, alluvial and also some special salty soils with a marked minerality, the team has focused on conveying what these different terroirs express. At the same time, they took a giant step forward by researching the potential of grape varieties, as well as the combination of vineyards sited in very different terroirs of the property, and experimenting with unconventional Rioja blends.
Winemaking: Muerza Crianza Bodegas Ugalde
This wine comes from vineyards over 10 years old. The planting of our vineyards was made following quality criteria, seeking low yields and small-berry bunches. Therefore, the density of plantation is very high (4,000 plants per hectare, according to a plantation frame of 2.5 x 1 metre), low-vigour grafting, Guyot training for higher vegetation, trickle irrigation managed in order to guarantee a good harvest with a certain hydric stress for higher quality grapes.
Alcoholic fermentation for 10 days at 28ºC. Maceration in contact with the skin for 10 days. After de-vatting, malolactic fermentation took place. 12-month ageing in American oak barrels followed by a 6-month bottle ageing.
