Muga Reserva Rioja 2021

Bodegas Muga Reserva, Rioja, Haro, Spain, 2021   

Grapes: A blend of Tempranillo 70%, Garnacha 20%, Mazuelo and Graciano 10%, hand harvested, indigenous yeast fermentation in wooden vats, 24 months' ageing in French/American oak barrels

Producer Tasting Note:

The 2021 vintage displays a bright ruby red colour, with medium depth and garnet rim. Intense and complex on the nose. Prominent aromas of forest fruits (blueberries and blackberries) with hints of spices. On the palate, it's long, balanced, and elegant. Perfectly integrated acidity with smooth tannins and a very long and fruity finish. Perfect to enjoy now, but will also keep for several years thanks to its good balance and structure.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"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."

93/100 points, Zekun Shuai, JamesSuckling.com, August 2024

"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." Drink 2025 - 2040

94/100 points, Luis Gutierrez, WINE ADVOCATE, February 2025

"This is fresh and minerally up front, opening to reveal a fine mesh of chopped cherry and plum skin flavors, with fragrant hints of ground coffee, smoked paprika and dried marjoram. Sculpted tannins define the long, slightly chewy finish. Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano. Drink now through 2035."

92/100 points, WINE SPECTATOPR, 2025

Also awarded 94/100 points by Tim Atkin MW, March 2025

Bodegas Muga is one of the most traditional producers in Rioja Alta with a 90 year history of winemaking. With harvesting by hand, natural indigenous yeast fermentation in wooden vats, ageing for 24 months in oak barrels (80% French & 20% American), egg white fining before bottling followed by a minimum of 12 months' cellar ageing before release, these are wines to be savoured.