Muga Reserva Rioja 5 litre 2019

Bodegas Muga Reserva Rioja, Haro, Spain, 5 litre, 2019

Grapes: A blend of Tempranillo 70%, Garnacha 20%, Mazuelo and Graciano 10%

This 2019 Reserva wine has a bright, ruby-red colour, with medium depth and a garnet tinged rim. On the nose it proves to be a wine which is complex in aroma, in which primary aromas of fruit such as blueberries are enhanced by spicy nuances. On the palate it is long, balanced and elegant, with perfectly integrated acidity and smooth tannins. The finish is very long and fruity. Perfect to be drunk now but thanks to its great balance and structure it can be kept in the bottle for several more years.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"Colour: dark-red cherry, garnet rim; Aroma: ripe fruit, fruit preserve, aged wood nuances, tobacco, sweet spices; Flavour: spicy, round tannins, long, toasty"

92/100 points, "Guia Penin", May 2022

"The 2019 Reserva, sold as Crianza in Spain, comes from a dry and warm year with low yields and concentrated wines. The grapes from the Haro zone, the four from Rioja, Tempranillo, Garnacha Tinta, Mazuelo and Graciano fermented destemmed and lightly crushed in oak vats with indigenous yeasts, and 80% of the volume matured in French oak and the rest in Centro European and American oak, 20% of them new, for 22 months, during which time the wine was racked every eight to nine months. This is serious and young but balanced, nuanced and complex. They are shortening the time in oak, as they feel they have better and younger barrels and think the wines need less time in oak and more time in bottle. This is very Muga, very Rioja and very good."

94/100 points, Luis Gutierrez, WINE ADVOCATE, July 2022

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.