Bodegas Muga
Varietal: Tempranillo
Vineyard: Rioja
Price: $25
Food Pairing: Rosemary and Orange slow-roasted Duck (Recipe)
The Rioja is a light garnet color with red fruit aromas of cranberry and raspberry. There are cinnamon and nutmeg spice flavors as well as some vanilla and caramel flavors from the riserva oak aging the wine sees. This wine needs a little time to open up and I would recommend decanting it or pouring it in the glass for about an hour before tasting.
This wine has high tannins and some pretty high acid that help it pair well with the duck. Duck is a fattier cut of meat and the tannins and acid really help to “cut” through the fat and let the flavors shine. After tasting the wine against the duck, it was fun to see how the rosemary flavors in the food helped to bring out some of the green herbal elements to the wine.
