Muga Selección Especial

Name: Muga Selección Especial 2020
Brand: Bodegas Muga
SKU: mugse20
Price: 29.00 EUR
Availability: LimitedAvailability
Rating: 4.696428571428571 (56 reviews)

2020

A combination of past, present and future

56 reviews

Other bottle sizes and vintages

Spec sheet

Type	Red wine
Region	Rioja (Spain)
Grapes	70% Tempranillo20% Garnacha7% Mazuelo3% Graciano
Producer	Bodegas Muga
Allergens	Contains sulfites
Alcohol contenti	14.0%
Production	288,000 bottles

The wine

The Selección Especial is perhaps the most easily paired with food of the Muga reds, a wine which combines the past and the future to perfection. On the one hand, it takes from classic wines its ability for evolution, its complexity and its delightful elegance, while on the other hand, its marked fruit-forward character comes to the fore, along with its fresh, spicy touches, more typically found in modern wines.

The grapes come from old vineyards planted on terraces and the must ferments using native yeasts in oak vats. It then undergoes an ageing period of 26 months in barrels made in Muga's own cooperage. Finally, it's clarified with egg white and left to repose in bottle for a minimum of twelve months.

It appears an intense cherry colour and has a spicy, mature nose. On the palate it exhibits fantastic acidity which bodes a great future, as well as some pleasant coffee hints through the retronasal passage; it comes over as corpulent but accessible, almost lactic. Traces of liquorice and tobacco are added to touches of cloves and vanilla adding up to a stunning aromatic display. Its finish is long and delicately bitter. It will continue to develop.

What does this wine taste like?

In appearance it is a bright ruby-red colour, with purplish tones and medium to high density. The nose is predominantly of red berries, spices and balsamic touches. It has a warm, unctuous entry and displays rounded tannins and mineral complexity, concluding with a long, elegant finish.

Light		Bold
Smooth		Tannic
Dry		Sweet
Soft		Acidic

View	Picota cherry / Semi-opaque / Dense
Bouquet	Spices / Mature / ripe
Mouth	Liquorice / Tobacco / Vanilla

Drinking and storing

16ºC

Food pairing

aves-y-carnes-blancas — Poultry and white meats

Entrecôte with pepper sauce / Meat casseroles / Wild mushrooms

Ratings and awards

2019	95 PK
2018	95 PK			94 SK
2016	94+ PK		94 PN	95 SK
2015	94 PK		95 PN	96 SK
2014	93 PK		93 PN	94 SK
2012	92+ PK	17+ JR	93 PN	95 SK

PK: ParkerJR: Jancis robinsonPN: PeñínSK: Suckling

Wine critics reviewsReviews by Parker and Jancis Robinson

2018 was a cooler vintage, with a fairly long maturation, which made the wines somewhat fresher and less alcoholic, as showcased by the 2018 Selección Especial, a classical blend of the four red varieties from Rioja, Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano with contained ripeness (14.05% alcohol) and good freshness. It fermented in oak casks with indigenous yeasts and matured in French oak barrels, 40% of them new, for 26 months. They were not very happy with the vintage and had to sort and discard, but as they didn't produce Prado Enea, Torre Muga or Haro, those grapes went into this wine. They are reluctant about 2018, but I think it was a vintage capable of the best and the worst, and this 2018 is floral, expressive and elegant. It's medium to full- bodied, with very fine, chalky tannins, combining power and elegance. Amazing! 187,200 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2021.

— Luis Gutiérrez (14/07/2022)Robert Parker Wine Advocate Vintage 2018 - 95 PARKER

Very dark crimson for rioja. Savoury, complete, layered and satisfying. Fills every hole on the palate and clearly has a great future but is round enough to enjoy now. Impressive.

— Jancis Robinson (27/09/2018)JancisRobinson.com Vintage 2012 - 17+ JANCIS ROBINSON

Customer reviews

Winemaking

Vinification material	Wood
Ageing period	32 months
Type of wood	American and French oak
Clarification and filtration	Clarified with fresh egg whites

The winery

Bodegas Muga

Bodegas Muga is a family business founded by Isaac Muga and Aurora Caño in 1932 and located in the historic neighborhood of La Estación in Haro. In its nearly 25,000 square meters, the most traditional production methods are brought together with the most avant-garde techniques. The vineyards of Bodegas Muga, nestled in the foothills of the Montes Obarenes, in the heart of Rioja Alta, enjoy a peculiar climate, partly due to its unique geography and orientation and, secondly,...

Muga Selección Especial

Spec sheet

The wine

What does this wine taste like?

Drinking and storing

Food pairing

Ratings and awards

Wine critics reviewsReviews by Parker and Jancis Robinson

Customer reviews

Winemaking

The winery

Bodegas Muga

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