Muga Seleccion Especial Reserva Rioja 2021

Muga Selección Especial Reserva Rioja, Spain, 2021     

Grapes: A blend of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, 7% Mazuelo and 3% Graciano, calcareous clay soils, hand harvested, indigenous yeast fermentation in oak vats, egg white fining, aged 26 months using new French oak barrels which were made at the bodega's own cooperage

Producer Tasting Note:

The 2021 vintage was rated as 'Very Good'. With a balanced, fresh profile, it was marked by a long, gradual growing cycle which, especially in the Rioja Alta sub zone, favoured complete ripening with excellent natural acidity. It has a deep robe and an intense black-cherry colour with garnet-red glints. On the nose it stands out for its great intensity, with a predominance of notes of oak and spices, cloves and cocoa, accompanied by ripe fruit and underlying balsamic herbs coming through. It proves round and smooth on the palate, with a silky, very well-balanced texture. Reminders of the ripe fruit reappear, with polished tannins and perfectly integrated acidity which give the wine harmony and length. The finish is long, elegant and persistent, leaving a typically spicy, fruity reminder of the 2021 vintage.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"Tasted blind. Cooked black fruit, cocoa and menthol, alongside toasted oak and vanilla aromas. The fruit is concentrated and powerful, with a juicy, inky texture and a remarkable tannic load – yet so sweet it feels almost like a caress. A wine of volume and impact, while maintaining very good shape and delineation, lifted by an extra layer of acidity that gives it real ageing potential. Muga has clearly shifted this wine from a more traditional, aromatically open style to a distinctly modern expression of Rioja."  Drink 2025-2040

17.5/20 points, Ferran Centelles, JancisRobinson.com, March 2026

"Fresh, plush but restrained with blackberries, cedar, graphite, pine, cocoa powder and incense. The fine wood is closely knit to the deep, vivid black fruit with medium to full body and polished tannins. The lengthy finish is structured and caressing. A blend of tempranillo, garnacha, graciano and mazuelo. Drink or hold."

95/100 points, James Suckling, July 2025

"The 2021 Selección Especial, is always their most gastronomical red, produced with a blend of the four traditional varieties from Rioja—Tempranillo, Garnacha Tinta, Mazuelo and Graciano. The grapes fermented in oak vats with moderate extraction, and the wine matured in French oak barrels built by their coopers for 26 months, with racking every eight to nine months. Like many others, they are in love with the wines from 2021, a year that was not easy but produced vibrant wines with lots of freshness and a combination of power and elegance. This wine has evolved over the years, going more toward a selection of vineyards rather than a selection of barrels, which is how it started. It combines classical and more modern characteristics in a fantastic vintage that is evolving very nicely in bottle; they called it a traditional Rioja with a bit of rock and roll! It comes in at 14.5% alcohol, with a pH of 3.56 and 5.91 grams of acidity and fine-grained tannins. It's very tasty, savory and almost salty. 290,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2024 after being fined with egg whites."  Drink 2026-2040

95/100 points, Luis Gutiérrez, WINE ADVOCATE, March 2026

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