Bodegas Muga Rioja Reserva 2021 (1.5L)
Product price
Description
Bodegas Muga's 2021 Rioja Reserva from Rioja Alta is a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha Tinta, Mazuelo, and Graciano. The vintage saw a long, cool growing cycle, with harvest finishing in late October; the wine fermented with indigenous yeasts in oak vats and matured for 24 months in mostly French oak barrels before being bottled in early 2024.
The nose is layered and composed, offering sour cherry, black cherry, and balsamic notes alongside earthy undergrowth, the oak influence subtle and well-integrated. On the palate it shows real concentration and power, yet maintains elegance and freshness. Fine, slightly chalky tannins frame a juicy core of fruit, and the finish stretches long with delicate complexities from two years in barrel. This is a wine that balances structure with approachability.
Product Details
| Category | Wine |
| Color | Red |
| Country | Spain |
| Region | Rioja |
| Subregion | Rioja Alta |
| Varietal | Rioja Red Blend |
| Producer | Bodegas Muga |
| Vintage | 2021 |
| Size | 1.5 L |
| Subtype | Still |
Expert Reviews
The grapes for the 2021 Reserva (sold as Crianza in Spain), mostly Tempranillo with some Garnacha Tinta, Mazuelo and Graciano, were picked late in a cooler year when they finished the harvest the 20th of October, with plenty of times for the grapes to develop full aromas and flavors and complete ripeness. It fermented destemmed and lightly crushed in oak vats with indigenous yeasts, separating qualities, villages and soils, and matured in 80% French and 20% American oak barrels, 20% of them new, for 24 months, with racking every eight to nine months. It's a textbook example of their style in a very good year, with power, concentration and clout, elegance and freshness. It was a very harmonious year; the cycle was long and the tannins ripened to perfection. It's terrific and more so for the volume they produce (984,000 bottles of it). It was fined with egg whites and bottled in January 2024.
The 2021 Reserva Muga, from Rioja Alta, is a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha Tinta, Mazuelo and Graciano. This aged for 24 months in barrels. The complex, balanced nose offers sour cherry, black cherry, balsamic notes and undergrowth with the oak providing an unobtrusive frame. Dry, with fine, slightly chalky tannins and a juicy core, the long finish is fruit-forward with delicate nuances from the aging process.