Muga Seleccion Especial Reserva Rioja 2020

Muga Selección Especial Reserva Rioja, Spain, 2020     

Grapes: A blend of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, 7% Mazuelo and 3% Graciano. Indigenous yeast fermentation in oak vats. Egg white fining. Aged for 26 months using new French oak barrels which were made at the bodega's own cooperage. 

Muga Selección Especial 2020 has a deep appearance and a lovely, typical black-cherry, wine-red colour.

It has a very intense nose with a lot of complex aromas in which the very ripe fruit notes come to the fore, together with spices like clove and vanilla, as well as notes of chocolate and cocoa from the wood.

On the palate, the attack is dominated by the polished tannins and a backbone which is very well balanced with the smooth mouth-feel. It has very well integrated acidity which will give it great potential for ageing. The finish is long and complex, with the hints of ripe fruit returning, together with the toasted nuances.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"Style: taut, balanced, juicy, full-bodied, complex. Aroma: expressive, balanced, creamy oak, red berry notes, ripe fruit, balsamic herbs. Flavour: flavourful, full of life, round, fine bitter notes, taut."

94/100 points, GUIA PENIN (Spain), May 2024

"Their most gastronomical red is the 2020 Selección Especial, a blend of the four traditional varieties from Rioja—Tempranillo, Garnacha Tinta, Mazuelo and Graciano—fermented in oak vats. Half of the destemmed grapes were put through an optical sorting machine. The wine matured in French oak barrels, 40% of them new, for 26 months and was racked every eight to nine months. 2020 was a warm year, and the wine comes in at 14.5% alcohol, with a pH of 3.56 and 5.75 grams of acidity. Manu Muga likes 2020 very much and says it's a year that suffers because it's in between 2019 and 2021. This is also a textbook example of this wine, a little more developed and tertiary, with generous spice and toast and a palate with more grip. The tannins are not as precise and elegant as those from 2021 (yeah, it suffers in the comparison), but it's a very worthy wine. 246,120 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2023 after being fined with egg whites." Drink 2026-2036

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

This wine will go well with red meats, lamb, all types of game dishes and grilled rockfish.