James Suckling 94
Top 100 Wines of Spain 2021 #56. Top 100 Values of 2021 Under $35 #59. This was the only red that Muga made in 2018, and the wines from the best vineyards went into the blend. In other words, top vineyards were declassified. Medium-bodied with very fine tannins that are caressing and refined. Plenty of subtle berries, chocolate and walnuts.

Tim Atkin 93
“Textbook stuff from the Mugas, this is a pan-regional assemblage of Tempranillo with 30% Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano.
Youthful, structured and refreshing, it's the kind of Reserva that will reward cellaring but will be drunk too young. Textured and
balanced with racy acidity and flavours of liquorice, blackberry and vanilla. 2023-30.”

Jeb Dunnuck 91
The 2018 Muga Reserva is a similar blend and has pretty, slightly fresher notes of darker, almost blue fruits as well as violets, spring flowers, and cedary oak. More medium-bodied on the palate, it shows the fresher, elegant style of the vintage, has beautiful tannins, no hard edges, and outstanding length on the finish.

Winemaker Notes
The wine has a bright ruby-red color with medium depth and a garnet rim. Intense and complex on the nose, where you can find primary fruit aromas of raspberry and blackberry, secondary aromas of vanilla and licorice and a subtle hint of tertiary aromas such as chocolate and ripe fruit.

Very well-balanced on the palate, with good acidity and soft tannins. The finish is long and fruity. Perfect for enjoying now, but also thanks to its great balance and structure, a wine you can lay down for a number of years.

This wine will make an excellent match for meat dishes, such as T-bone steak, and also with charcuterie and all kinds of casseroles.

Denominacion de Origen: D.O.Ca. Rioja

Location: Barrio de la Estación, Haro, Rioja Alta.

Varietal: 70% Tempranillo, 30% Garnacha, Graciano, and Mazuelo

Vineyards: Estate vineyards (65%) and vineyards leased on long term contracts, with viticulture controlled by the winery, in the foothills of the Montes Obarenes and the Sierra Cantabria, primarily in the northwestern villages of Rioja Alta.

Year(s) Planted: 1950-2000

Viticulture: Traditional Rioja viticulture that is sustainable and organic, but not certified. A blend of goblet trained and vineyards. The vineyards are not irrigated and are farmed without the use of harmful chemically synthesized fungicides, pesticides or herbicides.

Soils: Calcareous clay

Climate: Continental with Atlantic influences

Winemaking: Hand-harvested and transported to the winery in one ton bins to protect the grapes from bruising and crushing. The berries are destemmed and optically sorted, but not crushed. Fermentation is started via pied de cuve in oak vats of varying sizes that are produced on the premises at Bodegas Muga. Muga is the only winery in Spain that builds its own fermentation vats. Malolactic is delayed until late Spring by cooling the cellars with ambient air. Malolactic is spontaneous and takes place in the fermentation vessel.

Aging: 24 months in French (70%) and American (30%) oak barriques that are neutral. These barrels are produced from staves aged in the premises and coopered on the winery's premises. Muga was the first winery in Spain to have an in-house cooperage. The wines are racked periodically throughout the ageing process to and fined with fresh egg whites (cracked by hand) before bottling. The wine is aged for a minimum of 12 months in bottle before release, but most vintages see further bottle ageing.

Comments: Muga Reserva Unfiltered is Muga's flagship wine, and the only red wine they produce vintage over vintage. This is one of Rioja's most consistent cuvées qualitatively, as Muga declassifies all of their top vineyards, which in top vintages are reserved for Selección Especial, Prado Enea, Torre Muga, and Aro, into the Reserva in years when the top cuvées are not produced.