2019 Bodegas Muga 'Seleccion Especial' Rioja

Winemaker Notes: Selección is only produced in great vintages and in varying quantities depending on the conditions of each vintage. The wine is a result of a strict selection of the family's oldest vineyards planted on hillsides and higher altitude sites that tend to have poorer soil and better drainage. These conditions result in lower yields and higher quality fruit. In the cellar, vinification is similar to flagship Reserva bottling, but Selección Especial sees a higher quality oak treatment, longer ageing, and strict selection by the family.

Blend: 70% Tempranillo, 30% Garnacha, Graciano, & Mazuelo

CRITICAL ACCLAIM


Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - "The subtle and harmonious 2019 Selección Especial reflects a very complete and good vintage. It has to be one of the finest vintages for this wine. 2019 is a powerful vintage with balance and freshness. The grapes ripened thoroughly and developed a full set of aromas and flavors. It's complex and nuanced, with abundant, fine-grained tannins and a long, dry and tasty finish. Selección applies to the vineyards but also the barrels and everything that contributes to this wine; it's not only a selection of lots, which was the case before the 1994 vintage."


James Suckling - "Fresh and demure nose with lots of cocoa powder, blackcurrants, blackberries and a hint of cigar and charcoal. Excellent depth and class here with a very juicy center palate. Medium to full body with a long and layered finish."


Wine & Spirits - "Black, somber and rich, this has the gravitas of old-fashioned Rioja. Selección Especial is made primarily from vineyards in the hills stretching from Villalba to Abalos, after the first cut from those lots goes to Torre Muga. These parcels, close to the mountains, are influenced by limestone in the soils, while two others, including a cool, north-facing parcel, add fruit from clay soils to the blend. That coolness shows up against the warm scent of rosemary and Mediterranean scrub, alongside this wine’s blueberry-skin tannins. Youthfully suppressed, it’s concentrated and substantial, suited to long aging. If you open it now, decant it long before dinner with a butterflied leg of lamb grilled with rosemary stalks."


Wine Spectator - "Savory aromas of forest floor, leather and tar transition to reveal a creamy core of crushed mulberry, cherry and wild strawberry fruit, red licorice and singed orange peel flavors. Shows muscle and focus, but this is elegant overall, marrying sculpted tannins with layers of flavor and length. Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano. Drink now through 2034. 20,000 cases made, 6,000 cases imported."