Style Profile at a Glance
| Attribute | Profile | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Body | Medium-to-Full-Bodied, Velvety & Concentrated | ●●●●● |
| Sweetness | Dry | ●●●●● |
| Tannins | Polished, Fine-Grained & Harmonious | ●●●●● |
| Acidity | Fresh, Balanced & Vibrant | ●●● ●● |
| Oak | Classical & Integrated (Aged 24 months in house-coopered French and American oak barrels) | ●●●●● |
Terroir, History & Acclaim
Critical Recognition:
Wine Advocate 94 pts
James Suckling 93 pts
- 94 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: The grapes for the 2021 Reserva (sold as Crianza in Spain), mostly Tempranillo with some Garnacha Tinta, Mazuelo and Graciano, were picked late in a cooler year when they finished the harvest the 20th of October, with plenty of times for the grapes to develop full aromas and flavors and complete ripeness. It fermented destemmed and lightly crushed in oak vats with indigenous yeasts, separating qualities, villages and soils, and matured in 80% French and 20% American oak barrels, 20% of them new, for 24 months, with racking every eight to nine months. It's a textbook example of their style in a very good year, with power, concentration and clout, elegance and freshness. It was a very harmonious year; the cycle was long and the tannins ripened to perfection. It's terrific and more so for the volume they produce (984,000 bottles of it). It was fined with egg whites and bottled in January 2024.
- 93 Points - James Suckling: A plush yet fresh Rioja showing blackberries, dark plums, fine spices, cocoa powder and a touch of roasted red chile peppers. Medium- to full-bodied and juicy, with firm, fine-grained tannins and a long, bright finish showing some graphite, blackberries and dark chocolate. Tempranillo, garnacha, graciano and mazuelo. Drink now or hold.
- The Rioja Alta Foothills Terroir: Sourced from clay-calcareous and alluvial hillside parcels in the Oja and Tirón river valleys around Haro, at the foot of the Montes Obarenes. The altitude and strong Atlantic influence preserve crisp natural acidity and aromatic freshness, balancing the rich fruit concentration of Tempranillo and Garnacha.
- In-House Cooperage & Traditional Racking: Bodegas Muga is one of the very few wineries in the world that crafts all its oak fermentation vats and aging barrels in its own master cooperage. Fermented with ambient yeasts in large oak vats, the wine matures for 24 months in 80% French and 20% American oak barrels (approx. 20% new), followed by traditional gravity racking by candlelight and natural egg-white fining.
Highlights
- Classical Rioja blend dominated by Tempranillo (approx. 70%) with Garnacha, Mazuelo, and Graciano.
- Aged 24 months in house-crafted French and American oak barrels with candlelight racking.
- From the stellar 2021 Rioja Alta vintage; drinking beautifully now through 2040+.
Tasting Notes
Deep ruby-red with a bright garnet rim, it opens with pure, complex aromas of ripe blackberries, blueberries, and dark cherries, interwoven with sweet vanilla bean, cedar spice, cocoa powder, roasted coffee, and subtle balsamic herbs. The palate is medium-to-full-bodied, juicy, and velvety, wrapping generous dark fruit around fine-grained, ripe tannins and refreshing natural acidity, culminating in a persistent, savory, and delicately toasted finish with touches of graphite.
Serving Suggestion
- Temperature: Serve at 16–18°C in standard Bordeaux glassware.
- Decanting: Decant for 30 to 45 minutes to let its oak spice and berry depth unfold. Prime drinking window now through 2040+.
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