Muga Library Rioja Selección Especial 2004 (750ml) *

A library release now well into maturity, this is a Reserva-level bottling from Muga in Rioja Alta, drawn from the 2004 vintage and given the Selección Especial treatment reserved for the house's more ambitious cuvées. Rioja Alta sits at the cooler, higher end of the region, and its wines tend toward structure and finesse rather than sheer weight, a character that extended barrel and bottle age only deepens.

The color holds deep, saturated crimson, and the nose layers cedar, spice box, pencil lead, and pipe tobacco over black and red berry fruit, with a smoky mineral thread and a lift of incense running underneath. It is broad and fleshy across the palate, concentrated with dark berry and cherry-vanilla flavors that carry into a long, sappy finish touched by candied licorice. There is real power here, but it is kept in balance by energy and lift, and the wine still has structure to give.