BODEGAS MUGA RESERVA RIOJA 2017

Muga Reserva is deservedly one of our most popular Riojas and it is great to have it back on the shelves after an absence of a few months. It hits that perfect balance of modern and traditional. The fruit is clean and perfect, in a lush and bright and slightly spicy style, but elegant and medium-bodied. The elevated, Atlantic influence in the Rioja Alta region brings a Bordeaux-like focus to the effortless Spanish ripeness. Superb value and very versatile food wine.

Winery notes (2017 Vintage)
"The wine has a bright ruby-red colour 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 liquorice 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."

94/100 James Suckling (2017 Vintage) 
"Lovely, succulent red with juicy berries and plums, together with some chocolate, spice, walnut and cedar. It’s medium-bodied with round tannins and a flavorful finish. Touch of dried fruit in the center palate. A pretty combination of savory and fresh-fruit character. Some orange peel as well. A baby Prado Enea."

93/100 Luis Gutierrez, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (2017 Vintage) 
"The red 2017 Reserva, which is sold as Crianza in Spain, is their most popular wine, representing half of the total production of the firm. As is the norm here, it fermented in oak vats and matured in barrels, in this case for 24 months, crafted by their own coopers. The wine is fined with egg whites and kept in bottle for a further 12 months before it's released. I had the wine in the glass for a very long time, and it didn't stop improving; it started a little lactic and creamy, and then it got more and more serious. This is the only red they produced this vintage, so all the best grapes that normally go to other wines were used here; those selected grapes helped to keep the volume of this cuvée, and at the same time, it seems to have boosted the quality of this wine, which feels every bit as good as the 2016. It has a serious palate with fine, chalky tannins and very good balance. This is a textbook Muga red and a triumph over the conditions of the year, elegant and balanced, approachable now and with potential to age."

92/100 Josh Raynolds, Vinous (2017 Vintage)
"Vivid red. Energetic red fruit, floral and spice scents take on a minerally aspect with air. Silky, seamless and penetrating on the palate, offering appealingly sweet raspberry and cherry flavours that show good depth and a surprisingly airy touch. Deftly blends power and finesse and finishes very long and smooth, with subtle tannic grip and repeating red fruit and floral notes. This is the only red wine that the Muga family made in 2017, such was the crop loss, which means that fruit that would normally have gone into their high-end bottlings wound up here."