Expert Reviews - Vintage 2020, 2018
The Wine Advocate 93 Points | 2020 Reserva showcases wines from the Haro region and is a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano fermented in oak vat with a seven-day maceration. It was aged in barrel for 24 months—80% French and the rest are from central Europe and America. It was bottled at 14.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.55. This is a very reliable wine, keeping the profile year after year: ripe, juicy with integrated oak, spicy and tasty, with fine tannins with an approachable profile. This is a gentler year that is going to be a success with the general public. Balanced and gentle. It was bottled in June 2023. Drink: 2024-2029. (Vintage 2020).
Tim Atkin 93 Points | One of a dwindling number of top Riojas that combines grapes from the Rioja Alta and Rioja Oriental sub-regions, this impressive Reserva is a blend of Tempranillo with 20% Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano. Aged in French and 15% American barrels, it’s a youthful, structured, intense red from a difficult year with toast, wood smoke, black cherry and blueberry fruit and lots of underlying structure. 2024-2032. (Vintage 2020).
James Suckling 92 Points | Ripe but fresh nose of currants, blackberries, chocolate and plums. Not a big red, rather fluid and medium-bodied with soft tannins. A juicy, drinkable Muga Reserva that is already appealing. (Vintage 2020).
Jeb Dunnuck 92 Points | I loved the 2020 Muga Reserva, a spicy, complex, classic Rioja that has both red and black fruits, ample cedary spice, leather, and violet-driven aromas, medium to full body, a ripe, supple, layered mouthfeel, and outstanding length. A blend of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, and the rest Graciano and Mazuelo, it's perfect for drinking over the coming decade. (Vintage 2020).
Wine Spectator 91 Points | A rich, savory thread of tobacco, smoke and ground coffee underscores flavors of creamed cherry and blackberry fruit, black olive, orange peel and cocoa powder in this fresh and focused red. Medium-bodied and well-knit, with lightly chewy tannins firming the finish. Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano. Drink now through 2030. 80,000 cases made, 15,000 cases imported. (Vintage 2020).
Jeb Dunnuck 91 points 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. (Vintage 2018).
