Muga Reserva Rioja 2018  £24.50

MUGA RIOJA RESERVA 

Here we find a wine with medium-full depth of colour, black-cherry red with garnet hues. Dense legs which give us a wrapping sequence in the glass.

First, red-fruit notes, then blackberries appear, with reminders of fennel, scrubby heathland, all nicely balanced by the smoked aromas from the time spent in medium-toasted wood. Underlying hints of vanilla pod coming through with coffee notes.

Full mouth-feel with slightly mentholated nuances and white chocolate. The vanilla reappears and those red-berry fruit aromas we found on the nose persist, with an elegant acidity which makes the aftertaste long.#

Food pairing:
This wine can be paired with veal, Iberian pork charcuterie and some types of casseroles (stew).

93 wine points on Robertparker.com

The largest volume of the Muga winery is for the red blend 2016 Reserva, a wine that is sold as 2016 Crianza in Spain (for commercial reasons). This has the Muga style and the imprint of the cool and fresh 2016 vintage, one of the best vintages of recent years. 2016 is also a year of harmony and freshness that reminds me a little of the 2010. But the Muga family thinks it's somewhere between 2010 and 2011, because for them 2011 is not so warm, even if it generally produced quite ripe wines. It has a mixture of red and black fruit with sweet spices that are very integrated and in harmony. The palate is silky and clean, and the tannins are round and gentle. A delicious Reserva/Crianza. They produced around one million bottles of this. It was bottled in January 2019. They like to bottle the wine in winter, perhaps in a couple of months.​ -  Reviewed by Luis Gutiérrez